Health IT that’s been around the Blockchain

July 15, 2016

Categories: Thought Leadership

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New interoperable healthcare technologies are transforming health data into something like a new form of currency. It is no surprise then that health IT is looking to other industries like Financial Tech (Fintech) for inspiration.

Blockchain—a technology initially developed to secure transactions of digital currency—is the latest innovation on our radar. With interoperability close to mind, the healthcare industry is looking at ways Blockchain could be used to secure health information across entities. And Blockchain is capable of extremely secure transactions, which makes it the perfect candidate for handling our most personal health information. Here’s an infographic from Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) on how it works:


To accelerate these secure, interoperability efforts, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) recently announced the start of its “Blockchain Challenge.” ONC is asking interested parties to submit a white paper on how Blockchain technology can “potentially be used in health IT to address privacy, security, and scalability challenges of managing electronic health records and resources.” The goal is for industry leaders to explore and ideate on ways Blockchain can support ONC’s interoperability initiatives including the Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap, Patient Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR), and the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI).

Think you’ve got what it takes to come up with a radical crossover solution? Visit the ONC’s Blockchain Challenge website for more details. The winners are eligible for a cash prize and the opportunity to present their ideas at a workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. We look forward to seeing how the application of this innovative technology can push forward our most important health IT interoperability initiatives.

In the meantime, tweet us your thoughts by finding us on Twitter @CNSIcorp.