This past August the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the National Institute of Standards and TechnologyNational Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology promotes innovation through its physical sciences laboratory. It is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. (NIST) began a “BlockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors. Challenge.” Namely, they solicited white papers on the potential uses of blockchain technology in health IT to address blockchain’s potential contributions in the “privacy, security, and scalability challenges of managing electronic health records and resources.”
ONC Blockchain Challenge Whitepaper Review: Accenture
Of the more than 70 proposals, 15 were chosen based on multiple factors, including:
- the approach towards market viability;
- its creativity;
- the ability to inform and foster transformative change;
- the potential to support a number of national health objectives; and
- the potential to advance the flow of information.
Among the ONC Challenge finalists was an eleven-page proposal by Accenture. Accenture’s proposal, titled Blockchain: Securing a New Health Interoperability Experience, aims at improving patient outcomes and
interoperability via the integration of blockchain’s distributed ledger technology with existing IT systems. The proposal further focused on three specific applications “relevant to the mission of the ONC.”
Secure and trusted care records
Creating secure healthcare records into “an electronic chain of events, while preserving the provenance and integrity of the records.” Using access and control permissions in conjunction with solutions such as tokenization, pseudonymization or masking technologies, privacy and security of records would be improved.
Identity Proofing
Strengthening identity proofing, as well as linking between identities, by preserving a transparent record of “the declared identities of both patients and healthcare professionals.” In maintaining complete record integrity using the distributed ledgerAttestation Ledger An Attestation Ledger is a distributed ledger providing a durable record of agreements. It can also be expanded to include commitments or statements in so far that it provides evidence that these agreements, commitments or statements were made. feature, auditability would be increased. Therefore, healthcare fraud would more be more likely to be recognized by patients and providers, and then brought to light.
Patient Consent
Empowering patients by securing their decisions and directives within the secure healthcare record. If patient consent statements, access control decisions and directives were captured in an immutable blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors., then healthcare professionals would be able to trust those statements and act on them accordingly.
While the paper acknowledged that blockchain may serve as a cohesive force within healthcare’s complex data ecosystem, it asserted that blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors. “must be additive” and should not “invalidate” or “minimize” existing technology. Accenture further states that it “enthusiastically” supports the future of blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors. technology in the healthcare realm, and believes it to be a positive force in solving current healthcare industry challenges.
Subscribe to stay up to date with the latest government news in blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors. innovation.
Brennan is a blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors. technical adviser in the healthcare sector and blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors. entrepreneur who has worked on developing proprietary concepts for both artificial intelligence and enterprise blockchainBlockchain Computing System A Blockchain computing system treats the Blockchain as a secure computation platform that can be shared among multiple vendors.. He is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Health Professions where he earned a M.S. in biomedical informaticsNational Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a biomedical research facility and is an intregal part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It serves as the foremost biomedical and health-related research facility for the Unites States and provides research funding to non-NIH research facilities. The NIH also conducts primary research through its Intramural Research Program (IRP).....