The company will collaborate with Aetna, Anthem, Health Care Service Corporation and PNC Bank, which have plans for some 100 million health care plans
The blockchain technology is also revolutionizing the medical industry. Several countries use it to take care of the information of clinics and hospitals, as well as to contribute to an efficient sending and registration of large amounts of data.
On this occasion, IBM presents another initiative to use blockchain as a tool to build development. The company announced that it will collaborate with two of the most important names in the healthcare industry to improve the way in which “sensitive information” is shared and claims and transactions related to health insurance are made using a “blockchain ecosystem”.
Aetna, Anthem, Health Care Service Corporation and PNC Bank are other institutions that will participate in this initiative, bringing with them a base of more than 100 million health care and prevention plans that blockchain technology will benefit to function efficiently.
Regarding this point, IBM informed that in the coming months it will join more members of the so-called “Health Utility Network”, which includes health organizations, health products suppliers, startups and technology companies to continue collaborating with the health industry.
Barbara Hayes, IBM’s General Manager, spoke about this initiative: “IBM is one of the founding members, but we all have the same weight and power in this initiative. Transforming this industry requires eliminating waste and inefficiency. In health care, these inefficiencies in clinical and administrative areas are what lead to a bad user experience”.
IBM is not the only
In this type of ecosystem there is a lot of competition. Some projects have been coming up since 2017 and even the end of 2016. For example, in April of last year, Humana and the United Health Group came together to develop a pilot test using blockchain technology to provide information on medical records in an efficient and organized way.
On the other hand, also since November, in the last year, there is a blockchain of health called ProCredEx which is focused on storage and also make a follow-up to the sharing of doctors and dentists’ credentials, this with the aim of saving time and money within the industry. But the main reason is to save time and improve the quality of the service the customer receives, and stands out as one of the best ones in the market.
The hospital of the Medical University of Taipei, Taiwan, also created, a few months ago, a platform for healthcare which uses blockchain technology to maintain, protect and facilitate access to the medical records of their patients, as reported local media.
The initiative, which is called “Healthcare Blockchain Platform” will also improve patient referral services by being integrated into healthcare networks.
This platform involves more than 100 community clinics and was developed in accordance with the policy of the hierarchical medical system requested by the government. By using this platform, patients can access more easily and securely all their records, which include images of medical examinations, laboratory results and health exams with the use of a mobile application.
Undoubtedly, beyond just being the companion technology of cryptocurrencies, Blockchain technology is transforming different fields by becoming a secure storage and organization system to improve the services developed so far by humans.
By María Rodríguez
