Dive Brief:
- IBM this week shared three key principles business leaders should consider when adopting blockchain technology.
- One: blockchain creates a “smart, tamper-resistant” means of conducting trade and business processes. Two: blockchain brings more value as its network grows. Three: blockchain can cut deal times from days or weeks to seconds by improving visibility and trust across participants.
- Last month, IBM launched what it called the “first enterprise-ready” blockchain service, which allows developers to build and host secure blockchain networks on the company’s cloud. The tool is designed to scale up as new network members join.
Dive Insight:
The healthcare industry is rapidly embracing the idea blockchain. A recent report by Deloitte found 35% of surveyed healthcare and life sciences organizations plan to deploy blockchain technology this year, outpacing all other industries. Last December, blockchain along with artificial intelligence, drones and 3-D printing were flagged as emerging tech ospital administratrors should become familiar with this year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute.
In a LinkedIn post last summer, Humana CEO Bruce Broussard predicted that blockchain’s ability to enable secure and trackable transactions between multiple partners without need for an intermediary could revolutionize healthcare.
To encourage use of blockchain, the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT launched a challenge to use the technology to solve privacy, security and scalability issues in EMRs. The 15 winners, which included Accenture and Mayo Clinic, received cash awards ranging from $1,500 to $5,000.