The Medical Society of Delaware has partnered with healthcare technology startup Medscient to test a proof-of-concept involving Blockchain technology. The trial aims to improve healthcare access by creating a chain of patient records that can be made available to insurers and medical care providers.
According to the society, the proof-of-concept solution will focus on the preauthorization process for care providers and medical insurers. In his statement, the society’s vice president, Andrew Dahlke, said that the pilot initiative will pave the way for streamlining other healthcare administrative issues in their operation.
“We are confident that this proof-of-concept will not only address this particular pain point, but will lay the groundwork for streamlining other healthcare administrative issues as well.”
The project will be presented by the society and Medscient at the Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference to be held in Baltimore, Maryland in late August 2017.
Delaware government approves Blockchain law
Meanwhile, Delaware became the first state in the US to pass a law allowing the use of Blockchain technology in business when Governor John C. Carney Jr. signed the bill legalizing the use of Blockchain for stock trading and record-keeping. The bill amends the state’s General Corporation Law.
Efforts to integrate Blockchain in government and business operations in the state were initiated by Carney’s predecessor Jack Markell in May 2016 when he launched a program to promote the technology in government agencies.
According to industry analysts, the signing of the bill into law will facilitate experimentation on the possible uses of Blockchain technology to achieve efficiency and transparency in government transactions.
This will also make it possible for custodianship, issuance, redemption, and trading to be conducted on a distributed ledger.
