Tag: healthcare

Exclusive: Transforming Healthcare Megatrends with Blockchain Healthcare Specialist

Bringing all level of governments together. The membership of Government Blockchain Association (GBA) ranges from student organizations, private sector professionals and government employees and the GBA serve as a catalyst in building blockchain community with professional chapters, blockchain specialists and nurturing blockchain practitioners.

We are delighted to speak with Gerard Dache, Executive Director of GBA in his blockchain journey, the state of professional chapters for GBA and blockchain specialist courses. In particular, Gerard analyzes the uniqueness of blockchain healthcare specialists and its role in transforming the megatrends in the healthcare industry!

Can you share with us how you tapped into the blockchain industry?

Before joining the GBA, I spent some time in the army, infantry and intelligence for 13 years. I went into government contracting and have been in that space for many years.

Bitcoin first caught my attention when I found out my son bought $2.86 worth of Bitcoin. He held onto it, and paid for a motorcycle, a car, his college tuition and his living expenses. I started seeing that blockchain was really the secret sauce and got my attention. This was happening during mid-2016 while I was living in the Washing DC area. I believed that blockchain will have a huge impact on the government, and there was nothing happening in the government. 

At the time, I didn’t know much about blockchain technology and I had very little connections with meetups. We scheduled a meetup in August 2016, and two people showed up. Today we have around 15,000 people in about 100 cities around the world.

Can you share with us the story behind the development of the Government Blockchain Association?

In the initial establishment of GBA, we only had $200,000 of capital to build it. We started contacting people all over the world and recruiting chapter leaders to build our community. GBA grew rapidly in a year’s timeframe and today we have over 90 chapters around the world.

I realized in the beginning that this was a technology, and there were a lot of people interested but there weren’t many projects. I thought that if we could create a space where people could just come, connect, communicate and collaborate. If they’re smart enough to figure things out, they will create projects. We have incredible leaders all over the world now and created a fabric of people around the world who connect around blockchain technology.

What is the mission and vision of the Government Blockchain Association?

We use the term, helping the public and private sector come to connect, communicate, collaborate. Currently, there are a few institutional giants that are doing things in blockchain but there’s a whole ocean of small companies that have a lot of innovation and technology. Smaller companies generally cannot compete with big companies. With the community of GBA, we can connect people from smaller businesses with the government so that the government can find very high quality, innovative blockchain solutions from smaller companies.

Is the GBA a non-profit organization and is it supervised by any regulatory authorities?

We are a non-profit association, and we have chapters all over the world including Washington, Beijing, Moscow, London, Cameroon, Puerto Rico and many others. Our chapters work at the local, state, national and international levels. We’ve had events at the United Nations and our Paris lead had written a blockchain policy for the EU. The GBA communicates with governments at all levels.

There are currently 105 active chapters worldwide, but Hong Kong is not one of them. Does the GBA have any plans to set up professional chapters in Hong Kong?

Initially, we picked locations around the world and we started reaching out to people and recruiting them. Currently, anybody who wants to start a chapter can go to our website, fill out the professional chapter application. The most important thing about being a chapter leader is that they need to be the kind of person who can build a community.

We will connect them with working groups around the world because, in working groups, solutions can be developed globally and sold locally. It is about creating that local community of blockchain experts inside the government and outside the government and connecting them with world-class solution providers in the working groups and all over the world. The chapters get a chance in speaking at conferences and blockchain events, which gives them a lot of credibility and responsibility at the same time.

What are the criteria applicants must meet to become a GBA professional chapter?

I would say that is much more of a function of character than anything, as most people that started at GBA didn’t really know anything about blockchain. They were the kind of people that really want a positive impact and they learned about blockchain by researching on the internet.

Can you share with us the latest blockchain use cases for governments in Africa and South America?

In South America, we noticed that governments are launching blockchain initiatives in trade finance. For Africa, the main use case of blockchain is in the utilities sector, such as energy telecommunications and delivery of basic services using blockchain. Africans are currently exploring the use of blockchain in medicine and pharmaceutical supply, but I haven’t seen that come to fruition yet. The active projects are currently more focused on the area of utilities.

Can you explain how blockchain healthcare specialists can contribute to the megatrends of the healthcare industry?

Blockchain healthcare specialists can apply their knowledge on blockchain in area of finance, administrative processes, billing and supply chain. 

From my observation, there are a few pain points in the healthcare industry that can be addressed by blockchain.

1.   Counterfeit drugs in pharmaceutical supply chain, especially in Africa, Asia and South America;

2.   Accountability of doctors overprescribing opioids, in one of the states in the United States

3.   False data collected during clinical trials

In addition, I believe blockchain can be applied on various public health issues and genomics. There can be endless use cases with blockchain on healthcare.

Can you also share with us some blockchain initiatives of governments in the healthcare industry?

I can share an example of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) which is working on public health. The data from public health institutions do not interconnect. The CDC is currently attempting to use blockchain to collect the data from different hospitals, schools and sources. If there is an outbreak of an epidemic, they can quickly identify it and use data analytics, machine learning, and AI to identify a trend in it and essentially address it quickly.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is looking at using blockchain for the supply chain and contract management of healthcare services. What you will find throughout the government is a lot of pilots yet very few large-scale deployments.

What is the future roadmap of GBA?

Anybody in the government can join the GBA for free. Our goal is to have every government employee in every government in the world that is interested in blockchain to become a member of the GBA so that we can fabric across different levels of the government. This will allow for a system where we can bring integrity and transparency to public institutions. 

Blockchain-Powered A-Medicare Platform Gains Popularity on Social Media

The A-Medicare platform that is engineered through blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other cutting edge technologies has excited Americans based on its quest to make quality healthcare available and affordable to all citizens.

Through a post on Instagram, A-Medicare’s founder and CEO Enzo Zelocchi shared its stunning development making it gather more than 15 million views, as well as exceptional responses. 

So what is the A-Medicare platform?

It is a universal health care system that provides affordable healthcare and offers programs using blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning through a free platform portal where users get credits required to pay some or all of their health care. 

The healthcare riddle in the United States

The issue of healthcare has been contentious in the US because the quest for quality healthcare has prompted the affordability subject. 

The A-Medicare platform seeks to eliminate this challenge by presenting a universal health care system that offers quality and affordable low-cost healthcare. This will be undertaken through two solutions.

First, the system will offer a fully integrated data source founded on artificial intelligence, big data analytics, medical research, blockchain, and computer science. This will enable interested parties to access accurate data needed in healthcare service provision. 

Secondly, the platform will use advanced machine learning to enhance effectiveness in healthcare services by minimizing costs. 

Zelocchi noted: “Our mission is to decrease the cost of health care and to improve its efficiencies in all aspects using Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain technology.” 

The A-Medicare platform seeks to resolve the concern of access to quality and affordable healthcare among the American populace. 

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MediLiVes Healthcare Platform Launches App

MediLiVes, the innovative healthcare platform based on AI and Blockchain technology, is to launch its App on Saturday 16th November in London. MediLiVes is disrupting the USD 10 million diagnostic industry by partnering with medical practitioners and patients on a single digital platform.

At the core of the MediLiVes solution is the ability to prevent possible catastrophic medical emergencies through regular diagnostic checkups. Working with different healthcare organizations the MediLiVes platform can monitor and store critical patient data. The App is capable of recognizing more than 20 different irregularities in ECG signals making the diagnosis of serious conditions significantly faster.

Using Telemedicine, MediLiVes can reduce the cost of access to personal medical data for algorithmic medical examination models. It also solves the issue of patients not having access to their own data, typically a patient may have data in a number of different silos; hospital, clinics, doctors, surgery, etc, but not be able to amalgamate them when necessary.

Founder and CEO Sunny Ahonsi, came up with the idea for MediLiVes after a disastrous A&E experience in London with his son.  “We attended a very busy A&E department for more than ten hours before we were finally seen by the overworked medical staff. It turned out my son was not in any danger, was diagnosed in less than a minute and sent home. This was my aha moment.”

The aha moment crystallized in MediLiVes where telemedicine, underpinned by AI and Blockchain technology, can make a real difference in both preventative and reactive medicine. Users of the App can sign up for a year at a cost from USD 30 which allows for unlimited access to diagnostic readings of their data which in turn in stored on the App. Should a user feel unwell or wish for an actual consultation, then they can request access to a real medical officer, using filters such as medical specialty and geographic location.

“MediLiVes is like Uber for medicine-The The Uberization of Healthcare,” says Ahonsi. “People can reach out to medical staff when they need it – regardless of their location. This also reduces costs and even more importantly, access to medical care no matter where you fall sick. “

The task on onboarding medical staff is prioritized by strict criteria. All medical officers have to provide their country registered number and in-country medical certificate. This accreditation is checked on a three-month basis to ensure there is no change in practicing status.

“Telemedicine that enables a patient’s health condition to be monitored from a distance is one of the fastest growing industries in the world,” added Ahonsi. “The versatile nature of our core product means that it can find abnormalities not only in cardiology but also in diabetes, dietetics, civilization diseases, and chronic illnesses.”

Currently, there are more than 50,000 communities ready to start using the App, which is free to download. Ahonsi expects that to grow to 200,000 in several months.

To attend the event, please register here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blockchain-in-healthcare-tickets-78259280615

To find out more, please visit here  https://medilives.io/en

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Blockchain Application in Healthcare to Cross $500 Million by 2022

The healthcare industry is continuously going digital. As a result, blockchain offers much-needed transparency, auditability, trust, and security in healthcare data. 

Frost & Sullivan, a world-renowned firm that offers insights on disruptive technologies and economic changes, on Nov. 25 published an analysis dubbed ‘Global Blockchain Technology Market in the Healthcare Industry, 2018-2022’ and it is expected to surpass $500 million by 2022. 

The healthcare sector is expected to be transformed through the application of technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and internet of things (IoT) and blockchain.

Kamaljit Behera, a senior transformational health analyst, asserted: “Health insurance payers, providers, and pharma companies are expected to adopt blockchain systems ahead of other healthcare industry stakeholders.”

He also added: “In the future, distributed ledger technology (DLT) will be leveraged by telehealth vendors and tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to monetize data science and analytical services with innovative patient-centric care models.”Successful Blockchain Providers in HealthcareThe analysis also highlights that the most prosperous blockchain providers in this sector ought to:

Adopt applications like identity management, pharma drug supply chain, on-demand healthcare, health data access, and healthcare data infrastructure.

Be part of a noteworthy consortium, such as MediBloc and Hashed Health.

Ensure an interplay between three emerging technologies, namely AI, IoT, and blockchain., as they will enhance innovation adoption and other applications in the healthcare space. 

Collaborate with healthcare buyers based on the significant assessments of vendor solutions they undertake. 

Blockchain is touted to revolutionize the health sector as it will ensure the attainment of quality and affordable healthcare. 

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American Health Firm Enhances Medical Record Transparency with Blockchain

For the next 3 years, American Health Insurance Company Anthem is reported to be adding blockchain technology to store and share medical history for its 40 million-plus consumer base. 

Currently, in the initial stages of testing, Anthem is aiming to offer new features to a select few members to begin the 3-year roll-out plan. Digital Chief and Officer Rajeev Ronanki spoke on behalf of the project, adding, “The system is live for 200 employees, allowing users to scan QR codes available on the Health App to show medical history to healthcare providers for a limited period.”

Direct access to personal medical records and history is a strong movement in the industry, as more and more patients are crying out for improved transparency and efficiency, to allow personal health the best chance of sustainability. Having access to your personal medical history and the ability to share with your physician, can drastically improve time, efficiency and knowledge on previous and future steps to recover. 

Data security and reduction in cost, are 2 major elements that can only improve the current systems, even though it will require time to implement. 

CEO Gail Boudreaux, attending the Forbes 8th Healthcare Summit in New York, spoke about giving power back to the people, ultimately letting individuals hold all the needed documents to live the best lives they can. 

Blockchain and Healthcare continue to grow, globally in the US and in Europe all across the private and public sectors with large investments of time and finances. 

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UAE Health Authorities Launch Blockchain-Based Platform for Verifying Health Data Validity and Reliability

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Dubai Healthcare City, and other authorities have come together to launch a blockchain-based system for health data storage. 

The blockchain-based platform has been created to improve the efficiencies of smart healthcare services and to streamline the search of health facilities as well as to be able to look for its licensed and technical personnel. 

The Emirates News Agency reported by raising the efficiency of MoHAP and health authorities’ smart health services; it is in line with the outcomes with the annual meetings of the UAE government. The blockchain-based platform is also part of MoHAP’s plans to incorporate artificial intelligence “by 100% into the health services, pursuant to the UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy.” 

Information about any medication, including the details in the supply chain: the manufacturer, the active substance, the price, the approved agency, and the possibilities in methods of use will be made available.   

Dr. Lubna Al Shaali, the Director of Public Health Policy Department, stated, “This blockchain-based platform would help secure an unchangeable, decentralized and encrypted database with high-security protection to verify data validity and reliability.” She concluded that by using blockchain technology, data and information verification processes would be improved and made more consistent, providing more transparency and confidence in the healthcare sector. 

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Could IBM’s Blockchain Platform be the Solution to Disrupted Healthcare Supply Chains Caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic?

New York’s largest nonprofit healthcare group, Northwell Health recently joined IBM’s Rapid Supplier Connect Network, a blockchain project that aims to tackle the disrupted healthcare supply chains caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Northwell Health comprises over 800 hospitals in New York and has had reportedly adequate supplies to protect COVID-19 patients and hospital staff during the steep inflation of coronavirus patients in the state. COVID-19 healthcare supplies including N95 respirator masks, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) were all found to be low in stock in many countries around the world, due to the sudden surge in demand. Vice president and Chief Procurement Officer at Northwell Health explained, “It is through creating our own group purchasing organizations (GPOs) and supply chain, and joining forces with non-traditional suppliers that we have maintained an adequate stockpile of PPE and other equipment and supplies, so we are pleased to join IBM Rapid Supplier Connect.”

IBM’s Rapid Supplier Connect leverages the existing IBM’s blockchain platform, Trust Your Supplier, which is a blockchain-based trusted digital identity and supplier information that simplifies the supplier onboarding and supplier management processes while reducing risks. IBM is allowing qualifying suppliers to use Rapid Supplier Connect free of charge until August 31.

The Rapid Supplier Connect blockchain platform already has suppliers in the network, including Project N95. Project N95 has been focusing on sourcing due diligence to be able to provide PPE for healthcare works.

IBM also provided its supercomputer, “brain of AI” to the researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to be used to process simulations to predict which drugs could be useful in developing treatments for COVID-19.

Trust Your Supplier

The blockchain network Trust Your Supplier was designed to improve supplier qualification, validation, onboarding, and life cycle information management. Other founding members of the network include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Cisco, GlaxoSmithKline, Lenovo, Nokia, Schneider Electric, and Vodafone. 

Alan Lim, the head of IBM Blockchain Labs Asia Pacific previously told Blockchain.News, “We identified a problem, that the current procurement process is a very long time to onboard a new supplier to a company. The company needs to go through the due diligence process to make sure that the given suppliers are compliant as necessary credentials to be able to support the buyer’s needs.”

The Trust Your Supplier network aims to solve issues around manual processes that make it difficult to verify identities and track documents such as bank account information, tax certifications and certificates of insurance throughout the lifecycle of a supplier. Technology research firm Garner Inc. mentioned that by 2023, blockchain will support the global movement and tracking of $2 trillion of goods and services annually. 

COVID-19 and supply chain disruption

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a report on the importance of blockchain in supply chain disruption amid the coronavirus pandemic. Although the report suggested that blockchain may not be able to support the damage caused by the impact of COVID-19 directly, it may help with supply chain visibility.

Global trade and supply chains going through a massive shock from both the demand and supply side. The WEF report further suggested that as the COVID-19 situation changes daily, it is crucial for all parties to have visibility into the supply chain, to share data and communicate effectively. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the lack of preparedness for this sort of crisis.

Blockchain.News previously reported that VeChain and DNV GL have been looking into using blockchain technology to enhance drug traceability since 2018. In November 2019, the National Medical Products Administration in China will launch a vaccine tracking system in Q1 of 2020 that covers the whole medical supply chain. Together with President Xi’s endorsement of the technology, blockchain could become essential for finding a suitable solution for the current issues.

VeChain and Bayer China Team up for Blockchain-based Healthcare Project, Here’s What it Means for China

Pharmaceutical giant Bayer is now working with the Chinese crypto project VeChain on a blockchain-based medical traceability and supply chain program. 

In a tweet by the VeChain Foundation, the firm stated Bayer China – the Far Eastern unit of the medical giant – will utilize the former’s blockchain expertise to track clinical drugs across the latter’s nationwide supply chain.

Called “CSecure,” the platform allows firms to load a batch number to a specific product, such as tablets or syrups, and “stamp” it on the blockchain. All drugs can then be tracked in transit across the supply chain, using a native method of participant information and timestamps along the way. No data can be tampered with by any unauthorised third-party, owing to the inherent design of blockchain systems. 

However, VeChain’s VET tokens will not feature in the end-to-end process. Cryptocurrencies and altcoins remain banned and China and across the world, meaning all incentives will presumably be paid out in RMB than a token. 

Instead, VeChain’s proprietary ToolChain software shall be deployed. The product is a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) protocol geared at enterprises, allowing for the creation of distributed systems as per the company’s requirements. 

VeChain CEO and co-founder Sunny Lu spoke of the development: “We’ve experienced the rigorousness of the medical industry by working with Bayer China.” 

China’s pandemic-stricken environment stands to gain with the blockchain, especially when firms like VeChain partner with private corporations to provide services and ensure verifiability. 

Several other countries are turning to blockchain and DLT-run frameworks to improve the administration of timely healthcare facilities, bolster medical supply chain safety, and increase optimization of revenues. Earlier last week, hospitals in the US started work on a similar project to ensure authenticity in the medical industry, specifically the credentials of doctors and nurses. 

Verification of physicians takes three or four months, the report noted. In this regard, blockchains help quicken the process by ensuring verification comes from “authorized” sources and have been untampered with, eliminating the need for a “time-consuming manual intervention.”South Korea is another country moving for large-scale blockchain-based medical solutions In January 2020, as Blockchain.News reported, the Seoul Medical launch a blockchain-enabled medical information mobile app dubbed Seoul Care, helping patients plan medical treatments, look up prescription details, and check test results using their smartphones.

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is Worth More Than Bitcoin’s Market Cap

It was recently announced that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ wealth has surpassed that of Bitcoin’s market cap. This means that Bezos is worth over $171.6 Billion—exceeding his pre-divorce financial record.

Jeff Bezos: Explained

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon, the online e-commerce platform that is known to sell everything from toys to tech.

Considered one of the Big Four technology companies, Amazon CEO Bezos’ capital surpasses that of Bitcoin’s Market Cap. Currently, the market worth of Bitcoin is approximately 117.81 billion US dollars, though this number fluctuates.

The Big Four technology companies known worldwide include Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Though many are curious to know more about the Amazon founder’s success, the company will not disclose any personal and sensitive information relating to Bezos’ wealth.

How Amazon Care is Crucial during COVID-19

Amazon Care was originally built to tailor to the needs of its Seattle-based employees. The latter found their pay to be at risk, due to COVID-19 complications. Therefore, the e-commerce company decided to create an app that employees can use if they had health concerns or worries during the pandemic.

Amazon Care, which can be accessed virtually, is convenient for employees and for anyone who wishes to download the application.

In light of the recent pandemic, Amazon Care is more useful and safe than a physical trip to the clinic. Patients can contact health e-commerce remotely: from home, from work, and pretty much from anywhere in the world.

Covid-19 has revolutionized the way the world conventionally conducts business and having access to healthcare online may be one of them.

Amazon Care

Jeff Bezos’ wealth contrasts with that of most businesses. The Seattle-based e-commerce offers a variety of services. What is interesting is that it even provides Amazon Care, which is basically telemedicine. In light of COVID-19, remote healthcare is very useful. Amazon Care also enables patients to register for prescription drug deliveries.

Blockchain Technology and COVID-19 Pandemic

With the coronavirus hitting countries from everywhere in the world, blockchain technology is also a useful method in ensuring that anyone who wishes to have a health consultation may do so virtually. This is a safer alternative, as the spread of COVID-19 is worse in certain parts of the world.

Blockchain technology remains a game-changer and ironically, the pandemic may be what the technology industry needs to popularize the adoption of blockchain globally.

Deloitte Partners With Chronicled to Fight Counterfeit Medication Using Blockchain Technology

Leading big four firm Deloitte has partnered with Chronicled, a San Francisco tech company, to address medication fraud and counterfeit drugs through blockchain technology. Chronicled will provide its blockchain-enabled network dubbed MediLedger that has been instrumental in the healthcare and life sciences sector.

Countering medication counterfeit amid COVID-19

The MediLedger network has helped propel efficiency, security, and interoperability in the pharmaceutical supply chain and revenue management.

Through the strategic partnership, this blockchain system will help fight fraudulent medication needed in addressing the coronavirus (COVID-19) that has wreaked havoc globally. Hospitals and pharmacies will have the chance to use MediLedger’s product verification solution in verifying suspect or high-risk products as it uses a barcode scan to authenticate the provided data against that of the manufacturer. 

David Carlson, Deloitte’s managing director, noted that this solution would aid pricing transparency and offer a structured mechanism to exchange financial information and product use. 

He added, “Chronicled has the potential to radically reshape the way products are tracked and managed within the healthcare ecosystem.”

Deloitte seeks to aid large scale industry transformation in life sciences and the pharmaceutical supply chain via blockchain. 

Value addition in the healthcare industry

Blockchain technology is being considered a game-changer in the healthcare sector by enabling medical products’ traceability.

Chronicled CEO, Sussanne Somerville, noted, “Chronicled is pleased to be working with Deloitte to offer the MediLedger Network to the healthcare industry, most importantly to do our part in the fight against COVID-19.”

She added, “Combining Chronicled’s innovative product verification and contracts and chargebacks solutions and Deloitte’s deep experience with implementation and the complexities of these business processes, we have the ability to create tremendous value for the industry and the world.”

People’s health is of the essence, and blockchain-based solutions are continuously being adopted. For instance, the US government recently revealed that it considered blockchain a notable stepping stone to smarter food security. 

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