Blockchain could be the great cost, time saver in healthcare
Healthcare organizations and providers are facing more pressures than ever, from regulatory strains to financial squeezes. Blockchain is one area that can act as a major time and cost saver for healthcare organizations, according to a recent report from JPMorgan Chase.
In particular, blockchain has the potential to speed up the process of how physicians are credentialed, according to the report. The process, which typically takes months, is also costly and involves sending a credentialing application of a clinician to several organizations for verification.
Already, some healthcare organizations have teamed up to form a blockchain network to improve the credentialing process.
With blockchain, all members of the network, in this case the credentialing locations, can have access to a highly encrypted log of the physician, where changes can be transmitted and validated with keys known to each party and with agreed upon algorithms.
“In this, trust transfers from a third-party clearinghouse to the network as a whole,” the report reads. “In the blockchain world, the physician could provide access codes to the hospital to review their verified credentials.”
The blockchain network could shave off 80% of the cost and time of the current process.
Blockchain has also been touted as a solution in other healthcare areas, including improving efficiencies and privacy of electronic health records.
See the full report here.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."