Team: alexanderjsingleton
Introduction
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What is Blockchain?
First application based on Blockchain:
Application of Blockchain in Healthcare:
Organizational use of Blockchain:
Electronic Health Records
HIPAA Guidelines
Interoperability
Go-to-Market Strategy
Sources
Introduction
During the 2012 Elections, President Barack Obama courted opponents
of the Affordable Care Act with the promise of delivering a healthcare
exchange to clear the froth peddled by insurance brokers and companies
selling group-policies to Corporate America; ironically however,
ObamaCare merely interrupted free-market efficiency and increased the
cost of insurance specifically for those who found it unaffordable in the first
place- the unintended consequence of government policy: injury instead of
assistance, which is why an American dog probably receives better healthcare today, cash-only, without ObamaCare insurance. American healthcare
insurance is nothing more than a glorified payment-processing system. A
true free-market exchange indexed with real-time data and pricing would
ultimately benefit the patient. More data, means more transparency, means
better pricing and better health. Technology is exponentially displacing
yesterdays middlemen - so why should healthcare data remain exclusively in
the hands of corporations and governments but out of the patients reach in
the age of the iPhone and electronic-medical record (EMR) software? At the
end of the day, a transaction occurs between the patient and physician: an
exchange of data, vital stats, which is ever-accessible by the entire
healthcare complex except for the greatest beneficiary of all: the patient. If
transparency promotes democratization, then hopefully data promotes
health- so EMR companies should pivot strategy and approach in which
healthcare information may be shared via open-source exchanges modeled
after a blockchain framework facilitating anonymous but secure
cryptocurrency transactions, like Bitcoin. Although medical records are
personal, life-saving data could be aggregated from a healthcare blockchain
ledger, advancing wellness for the greater good with an open-source
healthcare exchange conceivably akin to ARPAnet, a precursory Internet
championed by DARPA. Like the human-genome, medical data belongs to
humanity, to the individual- not a corporation or government; arguably,
healthcare data is a basic human-right (Cook-deegan, Robert, and
Christopher Heaney). An examination of an industry leader in EMR, Cerner,
reveals an outline of the current healthcare exchange environment threatmap and how a blockchain framework indicates the direction to better
health, so America can live long and prosper.
Cerner was founded in 1979 by Neal Patterson, Paul Gorup and Cliff Illig
to create a software-solution platform for hospital administrators sharing
mission-critical information historically isolated by siloed hospital
administration ("Cerner Company Fact Sheet." ). In the 1980s, the Cerner
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is essentially a distributed database, or a ledger, similar to
Excel spreadsheets that warehouse a growing list of continuous transactions
from numerous parties within a distributed network. It uses advanced
security mechanisms such as cryptography and digital signatures to allow
each participant on the network to manipulate the ledger in a secure way
requiring a consensus among the group which, at the same time, eliminates
the need for a central authority to approve transactions. Basically, once a
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nobody can change it without leaving traces (Kar, Ian). Quality of care may
finally benefit from a notion of transparency, or truth, that is readily
available and accessible not only health-care exchange providers but most
importantly, the patients.
Tierion achieved
first-mover
healthcare
records
and
thats
really
powerful
(Williams,
Oscar).
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HIPAA Guidelines
164.312 Technical safeguards. A covered entity or business associate
must, in accordance with 164.306...[68 FR 8376, Feb. 20, 2003, as
amended at 78 FR 5694, Jan. 25, 2013]:
1. Standard: Access control. Implement technical policies and procedures for
electronic information systems that maintain electronic protected health
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a.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
b.
c.
2.
a.
b.
c.
i.
ii.
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Interoperability
Cerner currently participates in an interoperability network called
CommonWell Health Alliance. This alliance provides Cerner clients with an
opportunity to exchange healthcare data as a patient or medical
professional. The benefit is that a patient can receive better health services
because their record is accessible to any member within the alliance. An
alliance like this is powerful for providing health services because it reduces
physical records and limits required for record delivery via e-mail, fax, or
mail. The member-alliance is relatively secure for patients and healthcare
professionals because there are established security guidelines governed by
encryption protocols for transmission within the member-alliance network.
There are also downsides to this alliance. CommonWell Health Alliance
is simply a portal for healthcare records. CommonWell Health Alliance does
not store any the information and does not manage any of the integrity of
the records that can be accessed via their portal. Devoid of data-integrity
quality assurance and procedure, a healthcare professional is not guaranteed
updated records for their patient, let alone information security. This means
that each member within the alliance accepts blind-faith and confidence in
fastidious participation among CommonWell members. Although Cerner
technology ensures that data-records are accurately documentated and
exchanged, that is far from data-integrity and information security between
end-points among CommonWell alliance-members (even though this is a
HIPAA requirement). Accessing data through an alliance yields network
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Sources
Carayannis, Dr. Elias. "Introduction to Technology Project Management."
Washington, D.C. 14 June 2016. Lecture. Slides: 96-99.
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Norton, Steven. CIO Explainer: What is Blockchain? The Wall Street Journal
(2016): n. pag. Web. 24 June 2016.
Prisco, Giulio. The Blockchain for Healthcare: Gem Launches Gem Health
Network with Philips Blockchain Lab. Bitcoin Magazine. 26 April 2016.
Web. 26 June 2016.
Secure Exchange of Medical Information. Kansas City: Cerner Network, n.d.
Pdf.-2
Signalthree. "I Really Want to like Cerner." Reddit. N.p., Jan. 2016. Web. 26
June 2016.
Tierion and Philips Bring Blockchain Technology to Healthcare Sector.
Inside Bitcoins (2015): n. pag. Web. 26 June 2016.
Williams, Oscar. Estonia using the technology behind Bitcoin to secure 1
million health records. Business Insider (2016): n. pag. Web. 25 June
2016.