Forbes: Blockchain can bring new business models and benefits to healthcare

Rage Comment : IBM Business Value Research Institute surveyed 200 healthcare executives in 16 countries, and some of them said they expect the commercialization of blockchain technology solutions in this field this year. Most respondents said they would continue to increase investment and believe in the advantages of blockchain, but they did not expect it to be disruptive. Moreover, the advantages of blockchain will gradually become more prominent as the technology becomes commercialized.

Translation: Annie_Xu

How valuable is a complete health record? What if every vital sign, every medication taken, every doctor's visit, illness, surgery and other information could be recorded more accurately and efficiently?

The quality and coordination of health care are expected to improve, and costs and risks are likely to decrease.

Such a system is called “longitudinal data.” Longitudinal data is historical data about a person, place, or thing over its entire life cycle.

This is exactly why blockchain can make the healthcare industry better.

Data captured on the blockchain can be shared in real time among a group of people and institutions. Each event or transaction is time-stamped and becomes part of a long chain or permanent record that cannot be tampered with afterwards.

On a permissionless blockchain, all parties can view all records. On a permissioned blockchain, privacy can be protected by agreeing who can view which transactions where and hiding the identities of the parties.

In this way, blockchain turns disparate information held by a single owner into the entire history of an asset, whether that asset is a patient’s health record or a bottle of medicine in a supply chain.

Healthcare organizations are rapidly evolving from a blockchain application perspective and even appear to be taking the lead in the financial industry.

The IBM Institute for Business Value blockchain research report, “Healthcare Rallies for Blockchains,” surveyed 200 healthcare executives in 16 countries and found that 16% expect to have a large-scale commercial blockchain solution in 2017, beyond just trials.

They are leading the way in real-world blockchain applications that they hope will remove the barriers that have held them back. They are focused on gaining access to new and trusted information and entering new markets.

Leaders expect blockchain’s benefits in time, cost, and risk to be felt in three major areas: clinical trial records, regulatory compliance, and healthcare records. They also predict broad business model innovation will occur beyond the industries we have surveyed to date, occurring in 66% of business areas.

Despite the anticipation for transformative innovation, healthcare organizations, including leaders in blockchain adoption, do not expect dramatic change, arguing that regulatory constraints will constrain new competitors and models.

Regardless, healthcare organizations are investing heavily in blockchain pilots, with 90% of respondents planning to invest in multiple business areas by 2018.

Blockchains are widely recognized by many industries as a superior platform for regulatory compliance. They establish a trusted audit trail that can be verified in real time. This means that blockchains do more than just track compliance, they streamline the enforcement process and stop bad actors in the first place.

Rather than relying on regular on-site inspections, blockchain smart contracts can ensure that all parties are informed of non-compliance incidents in a timely manner. In short, blockchain establishes a platform for automatically enforcing privacy regulations, through rules embedded in smart contracts that dictate what they can see and when.

Additionally, as data and transactions are moved or connected to the blockchain, organizations can track who has shared data and with whom, without revealing the data.

By now, most healthcare organizations have recognized that blockchain can significantly reduce the time, costs, and risks associated with their operations.

We asked healthcare executives questions about nine core business areas and analyzed their responses. Our analysis consistently concluded that the benefits of blockchain are enormous and will be realized in every area of ​​healthcare. The potential benefits will only increase as blockchain in healthcare becomes commercialized.