Redefining healthcare with Blockchain technology

Blockchain technology will facilitate collaboration and secure data transactions across the healthcare ecosystem, promoting more accurate diagnostics and cost-effective service, while enabling improved revenue cycle management.

Can Blockchain - disruptive technology that made rapid inroads into the financial services sector - be the cure for healthcare data problems? Yes, say data gurus and early adopters of the technology.   While the volume of patient data continues to grow each year, healthcare institutions are left at the mercy of the need for effective data security and interoperability. They need robust solutions to bridge the data gap, as what is at stake is not just concerns for profitability and cost, but the lives of patients.

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Currently, most patient-related data is stored in centralized hubs, such as electronic health record systems (EHR), data warehouses, or repositories belonging to health information exchanges (HIE). The resulting data and the lack of interoperability make data collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem difficult.  This would have a significant impact on the ability of healthcare organizations to provide accurate diagnoses, effective treatments, and improved care at optimal costs. But thanks to Blockchain, we can overcome this challenge, generating greater interoperability and secure data sharing between platforms.

Decoding technology

Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized public ledger based on cryptography, supported by P2P (peer-to-peer) protocols. The technology that underpins Bitcoin's digital currency is characterized by decentralization of control, high availability, and strong data integrity through end-to-end encryption. What makes it attractive is that it allows all authorized entities in a network - which could be hospitals, payers, and patients - to access verified information using a private or universal key or code. It also creates an accurate track of transactions, which in the context of healthcare can belong to medical histories and bill payments. With Blockchain, we can thus build a safe and open ecosystem, in which all stakeholders can make quick and intelligent, data-based decisions. It's easy to see how technology can help simplify business transactions and clinical data, from ordering requests to monitoring clinical events.

Blockchain can be an effective way to transform the healthcare sector, which is already ripe for such innovation. It allows you to reduce the cost of audits and compliance, reduce these risks, ensure greater transparency in claims activities, create tamper-proof audit trails, and improve the security of patient data. All of this helps us to offer superior customer experiences while opening the door to greater profitability.

Source: Gurmeet Chahal para HCL