Tag: Healthcare Information Technology

Explore the raising impact of blockchain technology in healthcare. The current healthcare information technology holds data in centralized locations.

The Weave – enterprise blockchain platform for a better healthcare experience

In this article we discuss shortfalls of the current healthcare information experience, and an evolutionary solution. Once we explain that solution, we’ll walk through a real-life use case so the concepts come to life. 

Problems and gaps in today’s healthcare experience

Healthcare today suffers from information that’s reactive and secluded, sitting in silos where retrieving and connecting it in meaningful ways is burdensome at best, time consuming, and expensive. 

Even when those efforts do pull data together, its greatest value has long-since passed. Its derived insights were most valuable and needed in-the-moment, so that diagnoses and treatments could be better selected, delivered, and with fewer mistakes. If that were happening, every participant’s experience – and outcome – would be better, faster, easier and much more efficient. 

Such real-time interactions and information is possible, with a patent-pending technology called the Weave. 

Closing the healthcare experience gap 

The Weave is a new, patent-pending enterprise blockchain platform supporting industry level business ecosystems. Its premise is simple – an entity in the Weave gets its own blockchain. An entity could be a hospital or an organizational business unit within the hospital such as the Hospital Department Administrators. An entity can be a segment within the Hospital Department Administrators such as Emergency Care, as even individual ER doctors and supporting staff. An entity can also be the IoT connected ambulance that brought the patient to the ER as well as the individual patient. Each interaction between any 2 entities creates a shared block placed on each entity’s blockchain. In this example, the vertical integration of data from the patient to the hospital as a whole is streamlined regardless of who the patient encounters throughout their immediate and subsequent follow up experience. 

Simple in concept, but expansive in implications.

With the Weave, healthcare interactions are collected in real-time, creating an immutable and interconnected moment-in-time for each participant. Access to selective history can be granted, such as for a doctor to review a patient’s medications in real time, curbing complications and illuminating the best pathway to wellness. 

Let’s take a look at a simple use case, and explain how the Weave can elevate and transform the healthcare experience, and provide network-effects benefits to Weave participants.

Establishing a presence in the Weave

Let’s start by describing how organizations can establish their presence in the Weave environment , and participant in those real-time interactions with other organizations already present in the Weave ecosystem.

Access to the Weave environment is granted through a subscription model, similar to an Azure, AWS, or Office 365. Once an organization completes the subscription signup process, it can seek out and engage with any other organization who has a presence in the Weave – patients, drug makers, pharmacies, hospitals. From a B2B perspective, this includes individuals within the same organization such as patient service providers. Additionally, individuals in separate established organizations can setup a connection, establish the same rules as their real work  business agreement and communicate. Such would be the case with a provider who must process a claim from 1 in-network & 1 out-of-network doctor who treated the same patient for different stages of the same clinical care cycle. 

From a B2C perspective, with individuals – such as patients – simply install the Upheaval App on their mobile device, create a profile, and their presence and blockchain in the Weave is established. Weave is free for individuals, always. 

For large organizations, multiple Weave subscriptions can be provisioned, and connected later on as needed for intra-company interactions. You don’t need the entire company to agree on a single Weave subscription – you can grow into them as desired.  

The Weave works with existing healthcare information technology systems. 

Established healthcare information technology systems can integrate in-place. Devices – and other objects – can also be integrated for IoT functionality, and participate in interactions that immutably place a block on each participant’s chain. 

Existing workflows are maintained and augmented, or can be refined through process engineering that incorporates the Weave’s new capabilities and efficient automation. Our security compliant APIs and integration points mean organizations don’t need to replace their existing IT infrastructure.

Once an organization has a presence in the Weave, they can create as many objects and blockchains as needed. Doctors, rooms, devices, and treatments can be defined (or extracted from existing treatment or schema definitions) to create an interaction-ready blockchain. Pharmacists, medicines, compounds, departments, services, or other objects useful as participants in real-world interactions can also be defined as entities, and engage as block participants.

And since the Weave is a global environment with a standardized block, organizations can securely interact with objects outside their Weave subscription – seamlessly, securely, and with privacy requirements observed.

Now, on to our use case.

Enterprise blockhain healthcare use case on the Weave

Meet Sarah. Sarah heads to the hospital for an appointment. Upon  reaching reception, Sarah shares a code from her Upheaval app, and automatically provides the reception desk with identity verification and basic check-in, medical and insurance information. Instead of filling out a redundant paper copy of a medical questionnaire, check-in completes securely, in just moments.

A shared block is created from that interaction:

Sarah – The block is placed on Sarah’s blockchain, containing information about the interaction including the appointment, location, time, and what information was shared during check-in. Her blockchain includes all of Sarah’s health interactions, in and out of her current provider network.

Hospital – The block also goes onto the hospital’s blockchain, as a record of Sarah being at the appointment, when she arrived, and how to bill her insurance. 

Reception – The hospital created an entity for Reception to collect their interactions for recordkeeping and other uses. The block also goes onto their Reception blockchain, as a participant in the interaction.

Insurer – The block is also placed on Sarah’s insurer’s blockchain, to provide the information necessary for treatment, payment, coverage, and to record the interaction.

Sarah then meets with her physician, who reviews medical-specific history from Sarah’s blockchain (we call that walking the chain). Upheaval’s AI, coupled with the Upheaval-ecosystem’s machine learning and semantic associations engine, detects potential complications based on Sarah’s existing medications. The doctor changes the prescription, then with a few taps on her tablet (running a version of the Upheaval app designed for enterprises), scans codes with the app that describe Sarah’s visit, then signs and sends the prescription to Sarah’s pharmacy. 

Having Sarah’s medical history available in real-time lets her doctor avoid a costly and painful mistake. Securely and immutably signing, then sending the prescription streamlines the process for all participants.

A shared block is created from the doctor’s office interaction:

Doctor – The block is placed on the doctor’s blockchain, with information about the interaction, including the exam and devices used, course of treatment and prescription.

Sarah – The block is placed on Sarah’s blockchain, describing the treatment, medication, and other details. Upheaval’s notification engine can send her updates about her treatment.

Medicine – The block also goes onto the prescribed medicine’s blockchain, recording privacy-allowed information about Sarah to become part of its record and results. 

Pharmacy – The block goes onto the pharmacy’s blockchain, enabling it to prepare the prescription with validation of the doctor, patient, and medicine. 

Insurer – The block is also placed on Sarah’s insurer’s blockchain, for payment and records purposes. The insurer can automatically send digital payment to the pharmacy, secured using the immutability and protections of the Weave. A receipt for the prescription, with all relevant information, is automatic and implied with creation of the block. 

Information about each participant in inherent in the placement of the block on each chain. Sarah can easily review which doctor she saw, when, at which location, the type of treatment provided, and the medication prescribed, as well as other details. All using a user-friendly UI in the Upheaval app.

All participants benefit from the shared block, in multiple ways.

Creating and placing those shared blocks in real-time has all sorts of benefits – both collectively and individually. Let’s look at how each participant benefits:

Medicine – with each medicine getting its own blockchain, drug makers can walk the chain of each medicine to gain insights and keep records as a matter of course. Finding which patients were prescribed (and their demographics), where, when, how often, how much, and patterns usage become straightforward. 

Traverse the block connections beyond that particular medicine’s chain, and network effects start to become apparent: What other medicine did those patients take, in what timeframe, and what were the effects? Effectively, conduct ongoing longitudinal studies that update in real time with vast, traversable, interconnected datasets. These big data analytics and insights are services the Weave can provide directly to subscribers.

Doctors –  Physicians can keep treatments, prescriptions, patient patterns, and other information easily accessible and retrievable. All information becomes easier to submit, track, access, and traverse – saving time and effort.

People – Individuals benefit from having their medical records easily accessible, secure, and can easily share selected elements as needed. The entire healthcare experience becomes easier and integrated. Add patient notifications and feedback, and the wellness loop also evolves into real-time.

Insurers & providers– With information about interactions submitted in real-time, insurers and care providers better track treatment, coverage, and patterns. Payments with Upheaval Credits (UPCs) mean transfers of value happen as soon as the block is written, streamlining payments, accounting, and record keeping. 

Hospitals – Hospitals can provide more effective services and track them more easily. Analytics and efficiency opportunities are just the beginning of the benefits. 

Many others – Individual blockchains, bound by real-time shared blocks, is an evolution of data freshness and interconnectivity. The network effects of being able to traverse an individual blockchain, then walk connections found therein, has a rich set of opportunities for multiple aspects of healthcare.

This is just the beginning of applications for the Weave, and they extend throughout the healthcare industry and beyond. The Upheaval team has vast experience in enterprise software, protocols, and integration with existing systems, including close development and integration work with Top-10 insurance carriers. 

For more information, including how to partner or participate as an early round investor, look through our whitepaper and check out TheWeave.io

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Clinicall: Empower everyone with easy access to healthcare-related services

Digital transformation continues to impact all sectors of business, from healthcare to retail shopping, changing how we store money, how we shop, and how we carry our digital ID’s. One new company, Clinicall, is looking to change the way healthcare works by using blockchain tech to create a new kind of consumer-funded a la carte healthcare.

Overview of Clinicall Healthcare Services

The Clinicall mobile app and in-room terminals give patients easy access to entertainment and to medical data anywhere in the world. For over a decade, this company has specialized in providing users with custom healthcare options via in-room terminals and their mobile app. In early 2019, Clinicall tentatively introduced CHT (Clinicall Health Tokens) as an ICO to verify consumer interest. 

Prior to introducing token-based payment options, Clinicall had been around for about a decade, slowly establishing a global presence via its healthcare-related equipment and services. In 2008, the company installed its first infotainment terminals in a hospital in Germany. By 2010, Clinicall established similar programs in countries throughout the world. In 2012, Clinical partnered with Microsoft to create a mobile app that patients can access worldwide.

Solution

When expanding their services to a global market, Clinicall soon encountered problems on two levels. First, how could patients access their services from anywhere? Second, how would they continue to keep up with digitization and cutting technologies while funding their growth in a way independent of  local governments and local infrastructure? They found one possible answer in the form of blockchain technology.

Clinicall uses blockchain technology to secure its proprietary Clinicall Health Token (CHT), with each CHT worth the equivalent of one USD (US Dollar). Prospective clients from around the world purchase tokens which then become their property. By creating unique tokens and assigning these tokens to owners with the power to sell, transfer, and use these tokens at will, blockchain technology enables Clinicall to hold a currency independent of international boundaries. CHT in turn gives patients the flexibility to watch television, surf the web, and pull up their secure medical data anywhere in the world, all through one secure app.

Target Market

Clinicall’s target market includes consumers and businesses looking for an innovative way to pay for healthcare-related services. Their innovative approach focuses especially on the digital savvy consumer and on healthcare-related businesses looking to appeal to that market by buying CHT Tokens on their behalf. This technology and present-day investments look ahead to a time when healthcare will become increasingly digitized, from online access to services and medical personnel to the ways in which patients expect to pay for services.

Note that CHT tokens are neither an investment in the company itself nor a kind of health insurance. They are simply a guarantee that the holder will be able to use the currency to pay for services in the future. Those who purchase CHT can then choose to hold, transfer or use their tokens as needed subject to local laws related to healthcare and cryptocurrency. Current corporate partners include hospitals and clinic groups such as Hill-Rom in Saudi Arabia and Lungenklinik in Germany. Both organizations praise Clinicall’s forward-thinking approach to healthcare.

Because of specific laws related to healthcare funding and healthcare investments in certain countries, citizens of these countries cannot purchase, own, or use tokens pending further legal developments in those nations. Prohibited countries include China and the United States, among others. If you are a resident (including residents living abroad) of one these countries, you may not be able to purchase CHT – unless the rules change. However, foreign nationals living in these countries may have a special interest in purchasing coins for their use while travelling abroad.

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How does blockchain make healthcare more accessible?

Blockchain was, in some sense, designed to connect the world. The creator saw how the world was shifting its attention to the digital sphere, rather than the offline one. Pretty much any industry you can imagine currently, has a foothold online and therefore, is subject to influence from blockchain.

Currently, blockchain is seen as a place to make money through trading cryptocurrency. But it needs to be considered that the technology is an amazing way to connect people to knowledge they never had. But no matter how one may look at it, blockchain is a way to provide people with means of payment that is decentralized and accessible.

Blockchain means more healthcare options for developing countries

Healthcare in developed countries is much better than developing countries, that argument cannot be debated. Sure you can bring the USA as an example, but this argument is focusing on quality rather than price.

Developing countries sometimes suffer from a lack of experienced individuals or general funding for various medical fields. Therefore, the population is forced to either spend their entire life’s savings abroad or gamble with their health locally. Blockchain is probably the best solution here as it is able to provide various options for these countries.

A coin for healthcare?

There may have been several coins that came out specifically designed to be used in the healthcare industry. However, having a country back one single coin designed for healthcare would be advantageous.

This project would not be successful without significant subsidies, unfortunately. Offering healthcare services for these coins would need to have special prices that are lower, but offer the same advantages.

So why is this coin better than just normal money? Inflation. Inflation is the best answer to this question, as the coin will become immune to it. Inflation usually happens due to governments constantly printing more and more money to cover debt and various other bills. This devalues the already existing currency and before long makes it obsolete. However, according to experts at ForexNewsNow, cryptocurrencies are never “printed additionally”. The only change that the inflation ratio of a cryptocurrency can suffer is the “burning of coins” when the creators destroy a significant percentage of the coin to adjust the price.

How this helps developing countries

Developing countries would benefit from this immensely as their currency issue would be put on hold. For example, look at Eastern European countries and their currencies, there are 2 completely different pictures within just a couple of years. The country of Ukraine had its currency depreciate relative to the dollar by no less than 4 times. Same for the Republic of Georgia, where they saw their currency depreciate by more than 2 times over a period of 4 years. It can be easily seen that a Ukrainian who used to have $2,000 salary was able to utilize healthcare in Western Europe without too many problems, but right now, it would be impossible with their $500 salary.

Cryptocurrency would be an amazing way to subsidize this matter. But guarantees about the stability of the coin need to be enforced. Well, it can just be made into a stablecoin. This guarantees that these coins, no matter what happens to the currency, remain equal to $1.

This would most likely find a largely positive reaction from the international community, which will further popularize the coin and make it even more useful in various segments of the healthcare industry.

Future prospects and potential problems

However, this is just one option that could benefit everybody. There are numerous other ways cryptocurrencies and blockchain can be used to develop healthcare. One of which is the utilization of blockchain for storing relative data for the industry professionals. But no matter what is done to reinforce the idea of blockchain in healthcare, the technology needs to be given an ample regulatory framework. However, these regulatory frameworks may damage the whole essence of blockchain. The stablecoins may be able to avoid any serious ramifications, but given the fact that governments are terrified of cryptos, it is just empty hope.

Governments have their own reasons why they are scrambling to regulate cryptocurrency. The healthcare industry also plays a large role in these fears as governments try to avoid any unlicensed entities to provide healthcare services. In order to solve the problem of mass centralization, the core issues with the fear towards cryptocurrencies need to be addressed. Fortunately for the crypto community, most of those fears are currently disclosed.

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How Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Health Care In The Future?

Neil Jacobstien, chairman of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Robotics Track at Singularity University , says artificial intelligence makes things humans couldn’t do before possible. He adds that AI has the ability to deliver billions of dollars worth of value and real help to clinicians in the healthcare industry.

The impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare

AI has already entered the medical industry; it is being deployed in predictive analytics in patient monitoring devices, drug discovery, oncology, imaging, etc.

With increasing computing power and advances in machine learning and analytical algorithms, AI systems will become more powerful and effective in performance, revolutionizing medical diagnostics, treatment and research.

AI is expected to be useful in many areas of the healthcare industry.
Uses of AI technology in the healthcare industry

There are many ways AI will help the healthcare industry. Here are some of the most significant ways artificial intelligence is shaping the future of health care:

Enhanced diagnostic procedures

There are many diagnostic procedures in the medical industry that still depend on the collection of tissue samples. These existing procedures present the risks inherent to all invasive procedures. According to medical experts, AI technology may soon replace the requirement of biological tissue samples for diagnoses. It may give technicians the ability to identify and characterize tumours through image-based diagnostics.

Ideally, AI technology in the future, may enable specialists to collect the same detailed information collected from real tissue samples. For instance, with malignant tumours, AI will give specialists the ability to understand how an entire tumour affects a patient.  

Introduction of brain-computer interfaces

Computers have long been used for communication. However, scientists are searching for ways to create direct interfaces between computers and the human brain, which will significantly benefit patients. In the cases of accidents and neurological diseases, patients often lose their ability to speak, interact and move. AI-enabled brain-computer interfaces could potentially restore these abilities efficiently and in a meaningful way.

Physicians are also expecting that it will enable injured or ill patients to quickly restore their functionality. AI-based brain-computer interfaces may allow researchers to decipher the neural activities related to physical functions, helping afflicted patients to communicate immediately.

Decreased cost of care-giving

According to the management consulting company, Accenture, AI could provide healthcare organizations an annual savings of $150 billion by 2026. This revolutionary and smart technology has the ability to give health care firms the power to utilize the information generated by progressively connected information networks and medical devices. AI could help organizations cut costs and improve treatment outcomes significantly while lowering operational expenses.

According to Global management consultancy McKinsey & Company, potential annual savings of AI in healthcare is expected to be $300 billion USD (United Sates Dollar) in the United States and £3.3 billion in the United Kingdom.  

AI, through robotics, will reduce healthcare costs and increase performance.
Robotics in the healthcare industry

The increasing growth of digital information and big data systems present artificial intelligence a potentially crucial resource for collecting and extracting meaningful insight from increasingly smarter health care data networks.

In the near future, diagnostic technicians and wellness and lifestyle consultants may be able to leverage AI and wearable devices to optimize their medical services and improve treatment outcomes. As AI technology matures, it will improve the treatment outcomes and the operational efficiency of care, while decreasing the overall cost.

Automation of repetitive tasks

Health care firms constantly look for different ways to improve community health, and they also keep investigating the possibilities of AI implementation in many lucrative ways. Eventually, AI programs will enable organizations to discover new correlations among huge amounts of data. AI technology will allow health care organizations to automate their routine repetitive tasks and streamline their operations in various ways.  

It will improve the ability of care providers to deliver faster, more accurate and more precise services. Hospitals and devices will be generating and using an enormous amount of valuable and useful patient information at a surprisingly fast speed and accuracy.

Final words — Other potential benefits of AI

AI technology will solve one of the major roadblocks of the systems used in the healthcare industry. Advanced AI systems that can communicate with patients and make accurate diagnoses at the screening process will enable the growth of their availability and space.

In the future, AI technology is going to introduce hybrid models to be used in the medical industry. These models will aid technicians in diagnoses, treatment planning and identifying risk factors while retaining responsibilities for the patient’s care. It will result in faster adoption by healthcare providers by mitigating potential risks and start delivering measurable improvements in patient outcomes and operational efficiency at scale.

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How Blockchain Smart Contracts Can Be Used for Healthcare

Blockchain continues to generate buzz within the health sector, and one particular application in the form of smart contracts, is now eyed as an innovation that can push the industry forward. Among its features, blockchain’s decentralized verification model is one of the most valuable. The industry can use it to deploy blockchain smart contracts, a type of decentralized contract that verifies, adjudicates, and executes itself.

Blockchain-based smart contracts for healthcare automation

Previously, payers and institutions were required to go through numerous transactions, processing and verification systems. For example, a person asking for insurance coverage might need a lawyer to negotiate a contract, making the execution of the contract cumbersome and expensive. And in the case of disputes, third parties are necessary to ensure fairness. Sometimes, people even feel the need to verify if a third party is qualified to adjudicate.

But with smart contracts, there is no third party. The terms of the contract are set and secured within the blockchain network, with the network itself acting as the ledger. When the contract’s terms are fulfilled, the terms will be executed.

This kind of technology is crucial in an industry such as healthcare, which has complex relationships with various agents. As healthcare processes are interconnected with banks, governments, legal institutions, and individual payers, executing contracts are often complicated. By using smart contracts, the whole transaction process is streamlined and simplified. This includes payment processing, claims adjudication, and other processes that typically require lawyers and months of waiting. Being able to consolidate these processes will improve the healthcare provider’s revenue performance and remittance. It will also mean fewer lawsuits and headaches.

Hospitals around the world are now seeing the benefits of blockchain smart contracts. Taipei Medical University Hospital recently launched an online blockchain-based healthcare platform that stores medical records, referrals, and other processes using smart contracts. Their system has become particularly effective in improving inter-hospital transfers and referral requests. This is similar to MedicalChain’s technology which was previously discussed on Blockchain Healthcare Review. Change’s Intelligent Healthcare Network and TIBCO’s recent collaboration, Project Dovetail, is also aiming to create an industry standard in healthcare smart contracts.

At the same time, healthcare institutions are now heading towards automation and more advanced security measures. This is due to the fact that the medical industry is a prime target for hackers. In fact, after the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo was hacked for 6 weeks, more hospitals have been proactive in terms of cybersecurity. IT professionals and cybersecurity managers are being hired to keep their data infrastructure as secure and updated as possible. This results in an increasing demand for healthcare administrators and managers that can rise to the challenges. Maryville University suggests that nowadays technical expertise is a skill that is very sought after by healthcare organizations in the US and across the world. Special skills such as proficiency in blockchain-based verification and consolidating data streams are necessary for a successful systems upgrade. Having personnel who are well versed in blockchain can also increase efficiency, as their familiarity with the technology allows them to facilitate faster information exchanges. One scenario could be having all of a doctor’s patient records stored in a single secure digital ledger, which can be quickly opened when needed.

While it may take some time before blockchain smart contracts can achieve industry-wide acceptance, they have already started to gain traction. In the meantime, the healthcare industry should consider preparing its workforce for more disruption.

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MediChain: a public blockchain medical information network

Blockchain technology is much broader than its application in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. This technology depends and could not have been developed without large-scale cloud technology. In any kind of transaction system, the technology creates immutable data records of each transaction are distributed to all contributors to the network. In other words,

    • Every transaction is recorded in a way that no one can modify it or delete it.
    • Then all the transaction records become instantly available to all peer networked data system.
    • All clients of the system so that no one can doubt or question that a transaction took place and the nature and value of the transaction.

The financial sector has been the first to recognize the value of blockchain technology. Blockchain financial services are quickly growing, raising billions of capital dollars a year.

Data security

Blockchain goes beyond ordinary data encryption.

  • As each transaction proceeds and the details of the medical information are confirmed, the data is encoded into a block of digital data and uniquely signed or identified.
  • Each block is “chained” to the one before it and after it creating an irreversible and unmodified sequence.
  • Blocks are chained together, preventing any block from being altered, or a block from being inserted between existing blocks.
  • Then the chains of blocks create a shared system of records, already locked in place, among members of the network. This eliminated the need (or even the ability) to reconcile disparate ledgers or records.

MediChain- Medical Big-Data Platform

MediChain leverages blockchain to store pointers and rules on usage and anonymity for data that is stored off-chain in a compliant cloud. This allows patients, doctors, and hospitals the ability to access their data at any time. Moreover, it allows other doctors and hospitals to access selected parts of the data.

Benefits of the MediChain innovative architecture:

  • Fast access and small downloads to make it practical for everyday medical use.
  • The protocol is based on smart cards, Homomorphic encrypted access rules tables, json data formats, lightweight and strong cryptography and blockchain technology
  • Enhanced transparency and reliability in medical data exchange at every level

Since systems can work with the almost universal and open json format, The MediChain protocol  improves patient data sharing and availability anywhere in the world.

Blockchain in healthcare

What distinguishes blockchain healthcare systems from other health service networks is the records in the blockchain network are universally distributed to all stakeholders. Managers and stars in the network are not favored. Considering the vast amount of medical data that is being collected with new medical digital electronics and wearable devices, the blockchain era is already started. Hyperledger, the open source umbrella of bitcoin development, does regular surveys of public attitudes.

  • The last Hyperledger survey found that the technology is not universally accepted in the healthcare industry.
    Less than half (42.9 percent) of healthcare organizations agree that interoperability of electronic health records will help to speed blockchain implementation.
  • Only 28.6 percent of healthcare organizations are ready to use this technology in health care settings today.

The main reason why medical organizations hesitate to use blockchain technology is the lack of understanding. At least a quarter of organization leaders are still educating themselves and exploring the ideas. Healthcare providers are insecure and before they can’t make commitments for their industry.

  • A large majority (65.4 percent) want a technical proof of concept.
  • More than a third (38.5 percent) want proof that the systems are really secure and (35.6 percent) want proof that the data is kept private.
  • Nearly a quarter (23.1 percent) of healthcare organizations want more proof that blockchain systems can meet regulatory approval.

As the actual number of patients using the healthcare system rises and the number of data variables stored on a regular basis increases, healthcare providers have to manage huge storage issues every day. The data volume increases each year. Hospitals and clinics find it harder to process and store information from patient health information, electronic health records, (more recently) data from IoT devices and monitoring systems, and (significantly) medical insurance claim information.

A big and increasingly strident issue is the security and correctness of healthcare data. A means of verifying that data is correct is crucial for ensuring proper medical services.

  • One of the big advantages of blockchain is data integrity.
  • Once information is recorded and encrypted it becomes impossible to change or remove it.
  • One approach to blockchain for secure recording and sharing of information is the anchoring of data to the public blockchain.
  • This allows users to verify the integrity of public health records.
  • Professionals can perform medical audits and present results which cannot be altered or changed.
  • The expense of audits can be reduced.
  • Regulatory compliance can be assured.
  • Data safety can be ensured as well.
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UnityPoint Health Systems faced cyber attacks – how blockchain can help

In August, as many as 1.4 million patient records were compromised at UnityPoint Health Systems when an email phishing scam breached the provider’s network. This was the second of two cyber attacks on the Iowa-based health provider, with clinics and hospitals in Iowa, Wisconsin and Chicago.

UnityPoint Health Systems Cyber Attack

The first attack was discovered in April and compromised more than 16,000 health records. The attack may have been found a full four months after the provider’s network had already been compromised. Employees rushed to change passwords, but another series of email phishing attacks loomed.

Email phishing scams, in this case, mean the contact or employee received an email that mimicked a legitimate contractor, vendor or company.

These types of cleverly-disguised emails may include an access link giving the hacker carte blanche with the system. The phishing email may also encourage the contact to update their information. The better phishing emails sometimes appear to come from a vendor that the contact has already worked with or is working with, which makes it more likely that the contact will share requested information.

A spokesperson for UnityPoint Health Systems explained that the cyber attacks were probably aimed at vendor accounts—an attempt to redirect payments or payroll—and not patient records. Despite this, the attacks compromised names, social security numbers, banking information and more.

The sheer number of compromised files after the second series of attacks—equal to more than one-fifth of the Wisconsin state population—prompted the state’s attorney general to recommend credit freezes on compromised health accounts, and a class action lawsuit has already, allegedly, been levied against UnityPoint Health Systems.

The Outlook for UnityPoint Health Systems

The Office of Civil Rights has yet to weigh in on UnityPoint Health System’s possible HIPAA violations, but if recent fines are any indication, the health provider may be in trouble.

Earlier this year, Fresenius Medical Care North America was fined $3.5 million when an OCR investigation revealed that the provider or related covered entities had not performed thorough risk analyses to expose ePHI vulnerabilities. These fines were levied despite no evidence of a breach and following an OCR investigation that took place in 2013.

In summary, and in relation to UnityPoint Health Systems, HIPAA compliance calls for weighing the strength of cybersecurity and physical security protocols against threats to client data, this includes the way employees and business associates handle, access, or store PHI and ePHI. HIPAA also calls for compliance documentation, and encryption is part of the Security Rule—45 CFR 164.304. There is no specific wording in HIPAA regarding email phishing scams, but past fines for phishing compromises fell under 164.308, a section that outlines the responsibility of covered entities to provide security awareness training.

THE HIPAA PENALTY BREAKDOWN

Tier 1: The covered entity is unaware of the violation, and the violation could not have been reasonably avoided–PENALTY: $100 per violation up to $50,000.

Tier 2: The covered entity should have been aware of the violation, and the violation is deemed preventable—PENALTY: $1,000 per violation up to $50,000.

Tier 3: The covered entity demonstrates compliance neglect, but shows efforts to bring the flagged issues into compliance—PENALTY: $10,000 per violation up to $50,000.

Tier 4: The covered entity demonstrates compliance neglect, but shows no effort to bring the flagged issues into compliance—PENALTY: $50,000 per violation.

So far, no money has changed hands in the reported civil suit filed against UnityPoint Health Systems.

However, OCR has already issued more than $24 million in HIPAA fines to other covered entities, and it is only October. At the close of 2017, total fines stood at just over $20 million, and at the close of 2015, HIPAA fines stood at just $6.1 million. When the OCR issues fines for HIPAA violations, these fines are per violation and per day that the violation was active, and the fines can reach back years.

A recent round of OCR audits revealed that almost 85% of evaluated covered entities scored below tier 3 in risk. This equates to negligible and preventable violations, still commonplace more than 20 years after HIPAA implementation.

UnityPoint Health Systems has since reset passwords, utilized multi-factor authentication and enrolled employees in phishing education, but it may be too little too late.

According to a report released by McAfee Labs in March, the health care industry is the number one target for hackers. In fact, cyber attacks grew by more than 200 percent in 2017 over the previous year, and 2018 is gearing up to top last year.

How blockchain can help

Guardtime is a production example that utilizes blockchain technology to secure data. Instead of utilizing verification keys, they instead distribute data to a decentralized set of nodes where the system routinely compares metadata packets. If any end up not aligning, they are excluded. As a result the only way to alter data distributed on the nodes is to alter the blockchain itself by destroying all the nodes. The advantage of this is that if just one node with accurate data remains online after countermeasures defeat the attack, the entire system can be restored.

Guardtime’s system detects changes to data and is subsequently constantly verifying the changes. These types of measures ensure minimal weak ‘links in the chain’ i.e. tampering with the ledgers contained in the blocks, thus the data remains uncompromised.

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Security Risks in Medical IoT Devices – MEDJACK Malware Review

Devices on the Internet of Things are a weak point in many networks. Too often, they have outdated operating systems and poor security protection. IT administrators can’t get at their internals. Deploying insecure devices in healthcare systems can produce especially damaging consequences.

Security Risks in Medical IoT Devices

Health-related data is a prime target, and the legal penalties for failing to protect personal health information are severe. An infected device may not function properly, putting patients’ health and even lives at risk.

Current risks of medical IoT devices:

    • With the number of IoT devices growing from millions to 100s of millions centralized processes cannot scale​
    • Current processes are vulnerable to variety of threats.

Attacks on devices through MEDJACK

The MEDJACK attack provides a case in point. It’s a set of malware tools that target medical devices. MEDJACK takes advantage of weaknesses in older operating systems which are embedded in devices. They include Windows XP, 2000, and Server 2003, as well as some Linux distributions. It has gone through several revisions, each time devising new ways to bypass defenses.

It follows the “command and control” model, where it installs malware in a device which then sends data to a server that belongs to the attacker. The aim is to exfiltrate confidential data on the patient or the provider. Such data has high resale value. The devices serve as a pivot point from which the malware can reach other systems on the network.

The difficulties in defending against MEDJACK

Several factors make it difficult to detect and defend against these attacks. The devices are usually black boxes to the IT department. There often is no way to connect a console to them. Installing anti-malware software is difficult. Even if there is a way to do it, it may be inadvisable, since it would modify the behavior of an FDA-certified device. If a desktop computer stops running properly because of security software, it’s a nuisance that can be fixed. If a lifesaving device has the same problem, the consequences could be much worse.

As a result, the IT department is dependent on the manufacturer to issue security patches. Some manufacturers are slow at this. Some are reluctant to update certified devices, even though the FDA has issued guidelines stating that security patches don’t require re-certification of the device.

TrapX report – a case of malicious penetration

TrapX’s report, “Anatomy of an Attack,” describes three breaches that resulted from MEDJACK. They are similar in many ways, and a detailed look at the first will be informative.

A hospital, not named in the study, experienced several security alerts. The point of penetration was three blood gas analyzers, which had been breached in separate attacks. They had set up backdoors in the local network and were sending hospital data to a server in Europe. The amount of data stolen is uncertain, but there clearly was a breach.

After gaining a foothold in the devices, the attack used malware such as Zeus and Citadel to find passwords to other systems. The devices stored their data without encryption, simplifying the acquisition of confidential information.

Blood gas analyzers are used for critical treatment. They can’t simply be pulled out of service. Remedying the malware problem, even when it is known, is a difficult task.

The hospital had respectable network security. It had a firewall, heuristic intrusion detection, endpoint security, and antivirus software. These were insufficient to prevent intrusion because the devices had antiquated operating systems and because it was impossible to install security software on them.

TrapX concluded that the attackers could have not only stolen data but modified internal data. While the report doesn’t indicate that malicious modifications occurred, a similar attack could make devices produce false data on patients. That could lead to deadly errors in treatment.

Benefits of blockchain integration

Manufacturers using enabled blockchains can construct authorization/authentication databases. The QBRICS enterprise platform presents a unique example of an integrated blockchain solution. QBRICS proposes that authorization/authentication databases be propagated to read-only permission blockchain databases downstream using proprietary transmission protocols​. A plugin provided by the blockchain platform on IoT devices would then authenticate using the most proximate database. Fully deployed, relevant data from inventory, operational analytics (usage), marketing perspective would be readily accessible for consumption by business intelligence tools.The complete solution would provide:

    • No rogue devices (stolen devices, unauthorized vendors etc)​
    • Near-universal availability of device information (including software and hardware)​
    • Device movement and location information​
    • Device usage information ​
    • Device software upgrades easier (as targets easily identified, maintenance becomes easier)​

Conclusion

As this case shows, IoT-based attacks are difficult to prevent and detect. Several actions, however, can reduce the risk:

  • Take security features into account when selecting devices, when information on them is available.
  • Keep IoT devices on a separate subnetwork which doesn’t have access to critical information.
  • Use firewalls to strictly limit inbound and outbound access to IoT devices.
  • Run frequent security scans for any signs of infection.
  • Doing without the devices is rarely an option. The only alternative is to give extra attention to their security.

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Blockchain Meets Healthcare with “HealthChainHack”

Blockchain Meets Healthcare with “HealthChainHack”

BlockTEST Announces Hackathon, Collaboration Across Technology and Healthcare Industries

CAMBRIDGE, MA: BlockTEST, a blockchain services startup founded on the MIT campus, announced that they will be hosting the upcoming hackathon, HealthChainHack. HealthChainHack is a virtual blockchain hackathon aiming to translate academic research into pharmaceutical advancement by bringing together coders and key healthcare players worldwide for a two-month coding camp. HealthChainHack will kick off at the close of Unblock the Blockchain, a one-day blockchain and healthcare summit on September 22nd, 2018, and run until winners are announced on November 17th
,
2018. Participants are challenged to develop a blockchain platform prototype to address an actual use case in the healthcare industry. Solutions developed through HealthChainHack are hoped to become the first proven-of-concept blockchain projects to be implemented at scale in the healthcare industry. HealthChainHack’s total prize pool, to be awarded at various points over HealthChainHack’s two-month timeline, adds up to over $262,000. Google, a confirmed sponsor for the event, has committed $100,000 in cloud credits as a prize for hackathon winners, plus $3,000 in cloud credits awarded to the first 50 qualified submissions. Additional prizes include access to Google Cloud’s startup program and three months free startup incubation at Cambridge’s Z-Park Innovation Center. Hackathon winners will be chosen through the combined assessments of an advisory judging panel and an objective evaluation by BlockTEST’s patented testnet.

In part, HealthChainHack will serve as the unveiling of said testnet, which BlockTEST developed to provide quantitative analysis on blockchain projects. Users will submit their code to the testnet, and receive in return evaluations on their blockchain solution, displayed upon a matrix of measures, such as performance, security, privacy, and consensus mechanisms. BlockTEST will further provide mentors, webinars, and demos over the course of HealthChainHack to guide participants through the competition.

Sponsors for HealthChainHack, including Google, XtalPi, NEO and Oasis Labs, have committed over $300,000 to the event. BlockTEST co-founder Jennifer Jiang said, “HealthChainHack is an incredible opportunity to link an international network of blockchain developers with high-profile academia, mentors, sponsors, investors, and employers with first-hand insights into industry needs. Through HealthChainHack, we hope to provide a prototype structure for a future global blockchain ecosystem that connects the key players in the drug R&D value chain, to facilitate a holistic, integrative and
traceable data sharing system, and ultimately to expedite pharmaceutical discovery and development.”

About BlockTEST, LLC: BlockTEST is a technical due diligence company for the world’s blockchain technologies. At BlockTEST, we collect and analyze blockchain data so that you can have the information you need at your fingertips. Using our intelligent testnet, we demystify complex blockchain projects and present timely information with strategic insights to solve problems and unlock new opportunities. We are obsessively passionate about blockchain technology, and our mission is to empower people to adopt it with ease.

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iXledger – Peer to Peer Blockchain-based Insurance Solutions

Blockchain is a radical new technology that creates a distributed ledger that is verifiable between two parties and does not require an intermediate third party. It is quickly having a profound impact on a number of industries, especially in finance and healthcare. In fact, the first killer application of the blockchain was Bitcoin, a digital money. Healthcare insurance is a logical next step because it combines the properties of verifiable financial transactions, and the intense demand for solutions in this sector. Fortunately, iXledger has emerged to create a new platform for consumer health insurance on the blockchain. The firm has created a substantial new system that could be a game changer.

ixledger

iXLedger – blockchain for consumer health insurance

iXledger serves primarily as a transparent platform for buying insurance and verifying insurance information. For consumers, the blockchain record is an extremely useful feature that has no comparison. This platform allows others to use the blockchain to verify all of your insurance information including:

  • Name of the Insured Person, Group or Asset
  • The insurance company registration number
  • Registered insurance products
  • Policy inception date
  • Policy status

This data, which the user will have complete discretion over, is instrumental and is commonly required. However, most people were not able to easily prove their status in the past without having a inconvenient and unreliable card.

The process is fairly simple. The user first signs up and completes an assessment of what they need. They include all of their background information and finally submit it for various insurance offers. The client receives quotes and chooses the one that most fits their needs. They finally make the payment and complete the order. The insurance policy is now in place.

Potential Adopters

Accessing Medical Care

First and foremost, iXledger’s primary benefit is for individuals to easily prove acquire and demonstrate electronically that they have insurance as soon as they enter a medical clinic. When they walk in, they can produce the QR code or iXledger link that proves the insurance they already have. The clinic simply scans the code or clicks the link and receives the 100% proof of the insured contract.

The patient is no longer sitting and waiting to see if the clinic can find the healthcare or if it meets the standards. All of that information is already stored and ready for delivery. That reduces stress, smooths the payment process and makes life easier for everyone.

Home Refinancing

Many consumers seek to refinance their homes. However, in order to get a great rate and convince the bank they are worthy borrower, they must prove they have sufficient insurance in case anything happens. The iXledger platform quickly proves this insurance coverage. Consumers do not have to go back and forth between the bank and insurance firm with different documents. Rather, they can simply point to the iXledger platform for all of the data required.

Professional Driver Applicant

There are millions of professional drivers around the world. These individuals drive cabs, buses, private cars, trucks, motorcycles and many other types of vehicles. However, when they are applying for a new job, the hiring manager often wants to see that the vehicle is insured for cargo. At the very least, every person needs to be insured for accidents.

Using iXledger, drivers can simply point their potential employers or contractors to the site. All of the data will be there and will be completely fraud-proof. Employers will have more confidence in their drivers and will be more willing to hire them quickly.

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