YOU HAVE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT BITCOIN AND ITS EXPLOSIVE GROWTH FROM $.08 CENTS IN 2009 TO ALMOST $20,000 DOLLARS IN 2017. IT USES THE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS.  SO WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN YOU MAY ASK? EFFECTIVELY A BLOCKCHAIN IS A KIND OF INDEPENDENT, TRANSPARENT, AND PERMANENT DATABASE COEXISTING IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS AND SHARED BY A COMMUNITY. THIS IS WHY IT’S SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS A MUTUAL DISTRIBUTED LEDGER (MDL) VERSUS A SINGLE CLIENT-SERVER DATABASE LIKE YOUR STANDARD WEBSITE WHERE ONE OWNER CONTROLS THE ACCESS CREDENTIALS. SO HOW DOES BLOCKCHAIN APPLY TO HEALTHCARE? THE END GOAL WOULD BE A DECENTRALIZED RECORD SYSTEM USING BLOCKCHAIN INDEPENDENT OF EMR’S CONTROLLING THE DATA.  BUT AS WE KNOW THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN UNTIL A GOVERNMENT MANDATE OR EMRS OPENING UP THEIR DATA SILOS. HOW BAD IS COMMUNICATION IN HEALTHCARE?

THERE ARE 26 DIFFERENT ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS SYSTEMS USED IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, EACH WITH ITS OWN LANGUAGE FOR REPRESENTING AND SHARING DATA. CRITICAL INFORMATION IS OFTEN SCATTERED ACROSS MULTIPLE FACILITIES, AND SOMETIMES IT ISN’T ACCESSIBLE BY EITHER THE PATIENT OR DOCTORS, WHEN IT IS NEEDED MOST—A SITUATION THAT PLAYS OUT EVERY DAY AROUND THE U.S., COSTING MONEY AND SOMETIMES EVEN LIVES. BUT IT’S ALSO A PROBLEM THAT LOOKS TAILOR-MADE FOR A BLOCKCHAIN TO SOLVE, SAYS JOHN HALAMKA, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AT BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER IN BOSTON. WHILE IT WOULD BE MASSIVELY BENEFICIAL TO PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS ALIKE, IT LOOKS LIKE THE FAX MACHINE IS HERE TO STAY FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS.