- Gustave Roussy Institut, Embleema Team on Healthcare Blockchain
“Our members are delighted to be partnering with Dell Med to advance blockchain technology in this fundamentally important space,” Harris said.
Some of the areas where blockchain technology is helping healthcare are integrating medical records, securing sensitive information, accrediting clinical providers, authenticating pharmaceuticals, and monitoring patient activity.
“Austin is a vibrant incubator in the technology sector, and I’m glad to see that the city is tapping into this enthusiasm to tackle the challenges in our healthcare system with the establishment of the collective’s Healthcare Working Group and investment in its blockchain companies,” said Aaron Miri, Dell Medical School’s chief information officer of information technology.
“Dell Medical School is excited to collaborate with this endeavor and contribute to Austin’s position as a model health city and global center for innovation in healthcare,” Miri added.
The Healthcare Working Group will tap into the blockchain technology knowledge of the collective’s membership and augment it with Dell Med’s position as an innovator in academic medicine.
During its meetings, the Healthcare Working Group will discuss healthcare-related challenges and determine how blockchain and related technologies might be applied to solving them. The group intends to publish its insights and findings via thought leadership, educational workshops, and briefings.
The group will be led by joint chairs Aman Quadri, CEO, Amchart and Amsys Blockchain, and Anjum Khurshid, M.D., Ph.D., director of data integration and assistant professor of population health at Dell Medical School.
"The collective’s Healthcare Working Group is a great way for companies in Austin (and beyond) to collaborate on real world problems with an elite institution like Dell Medical School,” said Quadri. “My hope is that what we create together can be a model for other public/private partnerships to emulate across the country."
Khurshid added: “The collective’s Healthcare Working Group is an exciting model of creating a platform for exploring the promise of blockchain technologies in improving health outcomes. It allows researchers and clinicians at the university to discuss technical, policy, social, and ethical issues with industry partners for real world applications of blockchain technology in healthcare.”
FDA Approved Healthcare Blockchain Pilot to Track Drugs
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a pilot consortiium to study the use of healthcare blockchain to track and verify specialty prescription drugs.
Members of the consortium include Indiana University Health, WakeMed Health and Hospitals, Good Shepherd Pharmacy and its RemediChain project, healthcare blockchain firm Rymedi, Zebra Technologies’ Temptime, the Center for Supply Chain Studies, and the Global Health Policy Institute.
“Blockchain technology provides a platform to innovate healthcare delivery, and we are proud to be part of the collaborative effort to enhance interoperability for the benefit of patients,” said WakeMed Innovations Executive Director Diana Rhyne. “Its applications have the potential to make a positive impact across the full spectrum of the healthcare continuum -- from data integrity and pharmaceutical supply chain to improved patient safety and health outcomes.”
Rymedi CEO David Stefanich said: “Applying emerging technologies alongside regulatory standards development will not only ensure safe, quality products in healthcare, but will also display how our industry is evolving and working towards connected care innovation.”
Temptime Managing Director Renaat Van den Hooff added that global supply chains are “cold-chains that distribute highly temperature-sensitive, life-saving medicines. Improving patient safety, helping to preserve drug quality, and reducing fraud and waste in supply chains through the use of temperature sensors and smart labels is the reason we do what we do.”
