Dispelling some of healthcare’s biggest blockchain myths
Although not yet widely implemented in healthcare, blockchain technology has enormous potential and could be transformative by providing increased security, transparency and integrity.
However, there are some common myths surrounding blockchain that can slow its acceptance.
Kali Durgampudi is Chief Technology Officer at Zelis, a healthcare payment company. He’s a blockchain expert and that’s why IT news in the healthcare system sat down with him – to discuss how blockchain can be used in healthcare, the stubborn myths and blockchain’s transformational potential in the industry.
Q. What are the primary use cases for blockchain in healthcare?
ONE. Some of the biggest problems we have in the healthcare system are privacy and data security. Cyber risk continues to grow exponentially as the industry moves towards digitization and elimination of archaic paper-based processes.
Blockchain technology has the potential to alleviate many of these concerns. For those unfamiliar with it, blockchain is essentially a system for tracking and recording information. “Blocks” of data, or encrypted information, are widely distributed across a peer-to-peer network.
Each time the information is changed or shared, a new block is created to document the transaction. These blocks are strung together to make an impenetrable chain. Since the information cannot be modified or copied, blockchain technology significantly reduces security risks, giving hospital and health IT organizations a much stronger line of defense against cybercriminals.
As cyber-attacks become more frequent, implementing this technology will be critical to protecting sensitive patient and financial data. In the future, we will look back and ask why we didn’t implement blockchain technology earlier.
Another area where blockchain can play a central role is in healthcare. Shockingly, much health communication and many payment transactions still happen via postal and paper cheques. Blockchain can help speed up financial transactions between payers, providers and members.
For example, many payers and providers are hesitant to share information over email because there is no proof of delivery or receipt. An email can easily get lost in a spam folder, confusing and delaying the payment process for all parties involved.
Yet blockchain technology offers a way to provide never-before-seen transparency to these transactions. Blockchain gives both payers and providers complete visibility into the entire lifecycle of a claim, from the patient registering at the front desk to disputing a charge to sending an explanation of benefits.
In addition to explaining healthcare costs and providing transparency in the process, blockchain is ideal for healthcare exchanges, given the secure nature of the technology and its ability to facilitate faster transactions.
Today, bank checks are still widely used in the medical billing world. Not only does this result in unnecessary postage and printing costs, but it also requires more administrative time to process the checks, which slows both payer-provider communication and actual payment.
By leveraging electronic transactions through blockchain, payments will be significantly faster, secure and traceable.
Q. What are some of the myths that persist about blockchain in healthcare?
ONE. There is a lot of confusion surrounding blockchain since it is a relatively new technology that has not been widely implemented. The confusion that blockchain and bitcoin are the same probably stems from blockchain’s association with bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
In fact, bitcoin is a digital currency that was invented to operate outside of any single bank to a government entity. It is a cryptocurrency that operates through blockchain technology, which is why the two are often associated and confused.
Another myth is that blockchain can only be used for cryptocurrency. Using blockchain and cryptocurrency together is an ideal pairing, given the secure and traceable nature of the technology.
However, blockchain should not be limited to cryptocurrency, or even banking and finance. Blockchain essentially acts as a digital ledger, which can be used in a variety of industries to securely track information and protect against fraud, including healthcare, real estate, entertainment, shipping and more.
Due to the lack of knowledge surrounding blockchain, there are also some preconceived notions that it is something nefarious and is mostly used by “cryptocriminals.” Nevertheless, the blockchain itself is open and traceable, and most transactions are visible to the public.
There is no dark corner for cybercriminals to lurk in. As the fear of the unknown begins to dissipate and blockchain becomes more understood and adopted, some of these myths will be overshadowed by the benefits to businesses and consumers.
Questions. You say that blockchain technology has enormous potential to transform healthcare. How?
ONE. Blockchain technology has the potential to transform healthcare by providing increased security, transparency and integrity. It can provide more security to combat one of the biggest problems in healthcare – fraud. Still, as an industry that is notoriously slow to adopt new technology, we are likely still years away from the healthcare sector adopting blockchain technology on a large scale.
There are also a number of other roadblocks standing in the way of blockchain implementation. Blockchain is a completely new type of technology – you can’t just go to a blockchain website and start making transactions. It needs new applications and a completely new backbone system, which has to be built from scratch.
In an industry still struggling with interoperability and the transition to electronic health records, this type of technological undertaking is no small task. Not only will blockchain be transformative for its potential to positively impact healthcare, but it will also be transformative from a technological standpoint, as it will create an entirely new type of technological infrastructure for these organizations.
We still have a long way to go; however, we are moving towards utilizing blockchain technology in healthcare. Similar to how the pandemic served as an unexpected catalyst for the rapid uptake and adoption of telemedicine, a major security breach can act as an industry-wide driver for adoption.
Additionally, as more APIs are built out and the technology is more user-friendly and accessible, blockchain will become more accepted and implemented.
Q. What can healthcare IT managers interested in jumping into blockchain do to become more familiar with the technology?
ONE. Healthcare CIOs interested in jumping into blockchain should monitor how other industries are leveraging this technology to learn which types of implementations are working well and which are not.
Keeping an eye on some of the big blockchain players, such as Google and Microsoft Web Services, will also be useful for IT managers hoping to learn more about the technology and the innovation surrounding it.
Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the author: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
