Why Is the Healthcare Industry Abuzz About Blockchain?

Blockchain. A day doesn't seem to go by without seeing articles and discussions about the technology. According to PwC executive Seamus Cushley, approximately $1.4B has been invested in blockchain just last year. In Gartner's recent hype cycle for emerging technologies, blockchain is approaching the peak. It is considered by Gartner as one of the ‘Key platform-enabling technologies to track.' While there is a lot of ‘hype vs reality' discussions going on, there is no arguing that blockchain is being taken very seriously across industries and cannot be ignored.

A large percentage of the discussion does seem to focus in the financial services industry. This is not surprising given blockchain's historic legacy (I know, a disruptive technology already has a legacy) with Bitcoin and crypto currencies. In my article, last year, Blockchain - Its So Much More Than Bitcoin, I discussed that while given that legacy, there are so many other potential areas and use cases outside that arena. Yes, the financial services industry is investing heavily in research on blockchain, as it could have fundamental impact on how they do business. Even given that, the potential use cases for the technology outside that industry are what I find much more interesting. One vertical that is particularly intriguing is healthcare.

The business challenge in the healthcare industry
The healthcare industry has been full of disruptions in the last decade. Ranging from the double digit explosive growth of medical devices in the world of the Internet of Things, to the incredible advances in machine learning that could reshape diagnostic medicine. The medical devices are generating huge volumes of data about patients, and the machine learning technologies are the consumers of that data. This highlights a common focus for these disruptive technologies, and one of the industry's biggest challenges, patient data. Or put another way, the proverbial holy grail of the medical industry, the elusive Electronic Health Record (EHR).

EHRs have been a topic of conversation and goal in the healthcare industry for over a decade. Conceptually it sounds simple enough. A consolidated medical history of a patient that ‘may include all of the key administrative clinical data relevant to that persons care under a particular provider, including demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports.' (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services). The challenge is this information comes from a variety of sources, providers, laboratories, hospitals each with their own patient records systems. Add to that complexity, ownership, HIPPA regulations on access control and sharing of the information, trust between systems, and the associated costs of storage and replication of potentially huge volumes of data and you begin to appreciate why 10 years later, the industry is still struggling with EHR.

This has happened before, it will happen again
The failure to achieve the goal laid out 10 years ago for EHRs is not for want of trying. There have been some fairly large and high profile attempts

• Google Health - Google Health was launched in 2008 with much fanfare. Many thought with Google behind it, the concept of a consolidated EHR would be achieved. Four years later, Google shut it down. There was a variety of analysis of why it failed including trust, willingness of insurance companies and providers to share data, and lack of perceived benefit to the consumer.
• Microsoft HealthVault - Launched in 2007 and still appears to be up and running, though there has been little press or focus on the system. Recently Microsoft seems to be trying to re-start interest, but evaluations of the current state of the system, as well as actual usage do not bode well for it.
• VISTA (Veterans Information System & Technology Architecture) - VISTA was an initiative by the Veteran's Administration to achieve a common EHR that traces its origins back to the 1970s. Over 60% of U.S. physicians rotate through the VHA system, so it is probably the most visible effort in the EHR space. Even with that, the VA announced in March that it will be moving away for VistA towards a commercial EHR. Then in June of this year, it was announced that VistA will migrate to the DoD's EHR system (AHLTA - Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application, say that three times fast!).

Blockchain to the rescue?
Blockchain has become a big topic of conversation as the potential ecosystem that could help achieve the goals of EHRs. Conceptually, think of a ledger of your health care information and treatments. A fully traceable chain of information and activities that you as a patient have access to and control over who has access to that information. A chain that cannot be modified or tampered with. This is the kind of use case scenario that is being seriously looked at in the industry.

• Last year, Estonia (the tiny little country that lives on the bleeding edge of technology) announced they were using blockchain to secure over one million medical records.
• It was reported recently that Amazon has a stealth research project looking at developing a patient-centric EHR model based on blockchain technology.
• A group of researchers from MIT Media Labs working with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center tested out the concept of using blockchain to handle medical records earlier this year.

We have miles to go, and promises to keep
While there is a lot of activity and buzz around blockchain and its potential in the healthcare industry, it is far from a certainty that blockchain will be the savior that many hope for to solve their challenges. David Chou, CIO at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas, wrote a recent blog (6 Challenges to Healthcare Adoption of Blockchain) that highlights the challenges facing the use of blockchain in the healthcare industry. Key among the challenges are a cultural shift (including an innate resistance to sharing of information in the industry) and the technology challenges of all the distributed information across disparate systems.

Are we there yet? No. Using blockchain to help solve some of the challenges in the healthcare industry still has a long way to go to being a viable, productive solution. Even so, there is a lot of potential and bears watching as it progresses. As technologists, we always have a responsibility to help business and industry solve their business challenges, identifying the tools that can help achieve those goals. We should never fall victim to ‘shiny toy' syndrome. Blockchain is a tool in the toolbox. I for one am happy to have it available, and look forward to seeing the benefits it can bring to solving business problems and challenges.

DXWorldEXPO LLC announced today that Ed Featherston joined the faculty of CloudEXPO's "10-Year Anniversary Event" which will take place on November 11-13, 2018 in New York City.

Ed Featherston is VP, Principal Architect at Cloud Technology Partners. He brings 35 years of technology experience in designing, building, and implementing large complex solutions. He has significant expertise in systems integration, Internet/intranet, and cloud technologies. He has delivered projects in various industries, including financial services, pharmacy, government and retail.

Are You Thinking About Big Data When Doing IoT? - You Should Be

When talking IoT we often focus on the devices, the sensors, the hardware itself. The new smart appliances, the new smart or self-driving cars (which are amalgamations of many ‘things'). When we are looking at the world of IoT, we should take a step back, look at the big picture. What value are these devices providing. IoT is not about the devices, its about the data consumed and generated. The devices are tools, mechanisms, conduits. This paper discusses the considerations when dealing with the massive amount of information associated with these devices. Ed presented sought out sessions at CloudEXPO Silicon Valley 2017 and CloudEXPO New York 2017. He is a regular contributor to Cloud Computing Journal.

DXWorldEXPO LLC, the producer of the world's most influential technology conferences and trade shows has announced the conference tracks for CloudEXPO | DXWorldEXPO 2018 New York.

DXWordEXPO, colocated with Cloud Expo will be held November 11-13, 2018, in New York City.

Digital Transformation (DX) is a major focus with the introduction of DXWorldEXPO within the program. Successful transformation requires a laser focus on being data-driven and on using all the tools available that enable transformation if they plan to survive over the long term.

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DXWordEXPO 2018 New York and Cloud Expo 2018 New York agenda presents 222 rockstar faculty members, 200 sessions and 22 keynotes and general sessions in 10 distinct conference tracks.

• Cloud-Native | Serverless
• DevOpsSummit
• FinTechEXPO - New York Blockchain Event
• CloudEXPO - Enterprise Cloud
• DXWorldEXPO - Digital Transformation (DX)
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• AI | Machine Learning | Cognitive Computing
• BigData | Analytics
• The API Enterprise | Mobility | Security
• Hot Topics | FinTech | WebRTC

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2018 Conference Agenda and Tracks, November 11-13, New York City

CloudEXPO covers all of these tools, with the most comprehensive program and with 222 top world-class speakers throughout our industry presenting Keynotes, General Sessions, Breakout Sessions along 10 focused tracks, as well as our signature Power Panels. Our Expo Floor brings together the world's leading companies throughout the world of Cloud Computing, Digital Transformation, and all they entail.

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CloudEXPO is the world's most important, independent event where technology buyers and vendors meet to experience and discuss the big picture of Digital Tranformation and all of the strategies, tactics, and tools they need to realize their goals.

FinTech Is Now Part of the DXWorldEXPO / CloudEXPO Program!

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Accordingly, attendees at the upcoming 22nd DXWorldEXPO | CloudEXPO November 11-13, 2018 in New York City will find fresh new content in two new tracks called:

• FinTechEXPO
• New York Blockchain Event

which will incorporate machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and blockchain in two distinct tracks.

Financial enterprises in New York City, London, Singapore, and other world financial capitals are embracing a new generation of smart, automated FinTech that eliminates many cumbersome, slow, and expensive intermediate processes from their businesses.

FinTech brings efficiency as well as the ability to deliver new services and a much improved customer experience throughout the global financial services industry. FinTech is a natural fit with cloud computing, as new services are quickly developed, deployed, and scaled on public, private, and hybrid clouds.

More than US$20 billion in venture capital is being invested in FinTech this year. DXWorldEXPO / CloudEXPO is pleased to bring you the latest FinTech developments as an integral part of our program.

CloudEXPO is accepting submissions for this new track, so please visit www.CloudComputingExpo.com for the latest information or contact us at [email protected].

Register for Full Conference "Gold Pass" ▸ Here (Expo Hall ▸ Here)

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Only CloudEXPO brings together all this in a single location:

Attend CloudEXPO. Build your own custom experience. Learn about the world's latest technologies and chart your course to Digital Transformation.

22nd International CloudEXPO, taking place November 11-13, 2018, in New York City, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world.

Sponsorship Opportunities

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Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS - software, platform, and infrastructure as a service.

With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing Cloud strategies, now is the perfect time to attend and learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is on the right path to Digital Transformation.

Every Global 2000 enterprise in the world is now integrating cloud computing in some form into its IT development and operations. Midsize and small businesses are also migrating to the cloud in increasing numbers.

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Companies are each developing their unique mix of cloud technologies and services, forming multi-cloud and hybrid cloud architectures and deployments across all major industries. Cloud-driven thinking has become the norm in financial services, manufacturing, telco, healthcare, transportation, energy, media, entertainment, retail and other consumer industries, and the public sector.

CloudEXPO is the single show where technology buyers and vendors can meet to experience and discus cloud computing and all that it entails. Sponsors of CloudEXPO will benefit from unmatched branding, profile building and lead generation opportunities through:

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For more information on sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities, contact [email protected].

Speaking Opportunities

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The upcoming 22nd International DXWorldEXPO | CloudEXPO, November 11-13, 2018 in New York City, NY announces that its Call For Papers for speaking opportunities is open.

Submit your speaking proposal ▸ Here or by email [email protected].

About DXWorldEXPO LLC

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DXWorldEXPO LLC is a Lighthouse Point, Florida-based trade show company and the creator of DXWorldEXPO - Digital Transformation Conference & Expo. The company produces and presents CloudEXPO, DevOpsSummit, FinTechEXPO - Blockchain Event, the world's most influential conferences and trade shows.