The US government published 15 major blockchain medical research papers (full text download)

The Office of the Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the winners of its blockchain research paper competition.

The “Blockchain for Healthcare IT and Healthcare-Related Research Challenge” was announced last month to explore how blockchain technology can be applied in the healthcare sector.

According to ONC, the government agency received more than 70 papers and ultimately selected 15.

Vindell Washington, US national coordinator, said in a statement:

“We are very excited about the huge amount of interest this challenge has attracted. While many people know blockchain technology from its roots in cryptocurrency, this challenge also demonstrates the potential for innovative applications of blockchain in healthcare.”

It is reported that when announcing this competition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated that it attaches great importance to the application of blockchain technology in the country's medical IT system.

Currently, several major departments of the U.S. government, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are actively investigating the application of blockchain.

On September 26-27, the Office of the Health IT Coordinator (ONC) will host a blockchain-focused workshop at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The full list of paper winners is as follows:

1. Blockchain and Health IT: Algorithms, Privacy, and Data [Blockchain and Health IT: Algorithms, Privacy, and Data PDF - 507 KB] This peer-to-peer network allows all parties to jointly store and analyze data while maintaining complete privacy of the data, empowering precision medicine clinical research.

Authors: Ackerman Shrier A, Chang A, Diakun-thibalt N, Forni L, Landa F, Mayo J, van Riezen R, Hardjono, T.

Organization: PharmOrchard project of MIT experimental teaching "MIT FinTech: Future Business"

2. Blockchain: Securing a New Health Interoperability Experience [Blockchain: Securing a New Health Interoperability Experience PDF - 609 KB].
Blockchain technology solutions can support many existing healthcare business processes for information exchange, patient tracking, identity assurance and verification, improve data integrity, and enable large-scale interoperability.

Author: Brodersen C, Kalis B, Mitchell E, Pupo E, Triscott A.

Organization: Accenture LLP

3. Blockchain Technologies: A Whitepaper Discussing how Claims Process can be Improved PDF – 1 MB. Smart contracts, blockchain, and other technologies can be combined into a platform to dramatically improve the claims process and enhance the healthcare experience for all stakeholders.

By Culver K.
Organization: None

4. Blockchain: Opportunities for Health Care [Blockchain: Opportunities for Health Care PDF – 787 KB] Use blockchain as part of the exchange of medical information to meet national healthcare goals.

Authors: Krawiec RJ, Barr D, Killmeyer K, Filipova M, Nesbit A, Israel A, Quarre F, Fedosva K, Tsai L.
Organization: Deloitte Consulting

5. A Case Study for Blockchain in Healthcare: “MedRec” Prototype for Electronic Health Records and Medical Research Data [PDF - 591 KB] This distributed record management system uses blockchain technology to process electronic medical records and manage authentication, confidentiality, accountability, and data sharing.

Authors: Ekblaw A, Azaria A, Halamka J, Lippman A.
Organizations: MIT Media Lab, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

6. The Use of a Blockchain to Foster the Development of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures [PDF - 195 KB]. Combining IoT and blockchain technology to improve patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)

Author: Goldwater JC.
Organization: National Quality Forum

7.'HIE of One' Blockchain and Medical Information Protection [Powering the Physician Patient Relationship with 'HIE of One' Blockchain Health IT PDF-162 KB]. 'HIE of One' connects the patient's protected medical information (PHI) to a blockchain identity, which verifies the credential provider to reduce transaction costs and improve security for all participants.

Author: Gropper A.
Organization: None

8. Blockchain: The Chain of Trust and its Potential to Transform Healthcare – Our Point of View PDF-249 KB. Potential uses of blockchain technology in the healthcare industry include healthcare authorization payment infrastructure, counterfeit drug prevention and detection, and clinical trial results application.
Organization: IBM Global Business Services Public Sector

9. Moving Toward a Blockchain-based Method for the Secure Storage of Patient Records PDF – 270 KB. Using blockchain as a new method to secure the storage of medical data, and a plan for transitioning from current technology to a blockchain solution.

Author: Ivan D.
Organization: None

10. ModelChain: Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Health Care Predictive Modeling Framework on Private Blockchain Networks PDF – 272 KB. ModelChain is a framework that uses blockchain technology to implement privacy protection for health care predictive models, which can enhance interoperability between participating institutions.

Author: Kuo T, Hsu C, Ohno-Machado L.
Organization: Department of Biomedical Informatics Healthcare Systems, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA Department of Healthcare Services Research and Development, VA San Diego Healthcare System.

11. Blockchain for Health Data and Its Potential Use in Health IT and Health Care Related Research [Blockchain for Health Data and Its Potential Use in Health IT and Health Care Related Research PDF – 1.5 MB]

Author: Linn L, Koo M.
Organization: None

12. A Blockchain-Based Approach to Health Information Exchange Networks PDF-402 KB: A blockchain-based solution that can share patient data while maintaining privacy.

Authors: Peterson K, Deedvanu R, Kanjamala P, Boles K.
Organization: Mayo Clinic

13. Adoption of Blockchain to enable the Scalability and Adoption of Accountable Care PDF-500 KB. This new digital healthcare service model is based on blockchain, which enables peer-to-peer network authorization and authentication.

By Prakash R.
Organization: None

14. A Blockchain Profile for Medicaid Applicants and Recipients [PDF – 190 KB]. A profile on how healthcare IT and healthcare research can leverage blockchain innovation and emerging AI systems to develop new Medicaid planning models.

Authors: Vian K, Voto A, Haynes-Sanstead K.
Organization: Blockchain Futures Lab – Institute for the Future

15. Blockchain & Alternate Payment Models [Blockchain & Alternate Payment Models PDF - 601KB].