ARMONK, N.Y., Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Aetna, Anthem
(NYSE: ANTM), Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), PNC Bank
(NYSE: PNC) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new collaboration
to design and create a network using blockchain
technology to improve transparency and interoperability in the
healthcare industry. The aim is to create an inclusive
blockchain network that can benefit multiple members of the
healthcare ecosystem in a highly secure, shared environment.
The goal is to allow the blockchain network to
enable healthcare companies to build, share and deploy
solutions that drive digital transformation in the
industry.
Despite major initiatives to digitize healthcare information,
major improvements in transparency and interoperability among
various groups in the healthcare system are still necessary. By
reducing administrative errors and friction through the application
of blockchain technology, healthcare information could be exchanged
more efficiently. These improvements, once realized could help
enhance patient care and reduce unnecessary costs.
The collaboration members intend to use blockchain to address a
range of industry challenges, including promoting efficient claims
and payment processing, to enable secure and frictionless
healthcare information exchanges, and to maintain current and
accurate provider directories.
"We are committed to improving the healthcare consumer
experience and making our healthcare system work more effectively,"
said Claus Jensen, chief technology
officer at Aetna, a CVS Health business. "Through the application
of blockchain technology, we'll work to improve data accuracy for
providers, regulators, and other stakeholders, and give our members
more control over their own data."
"At Anthem, we recognize the importance of driving change that
will simplify the healthcare system for all Americans," said
Rajeev Ronanki, Chief Digital
Officer of Anthem, Inc. "We view Blockchain as an enabler for
establishing trust. Timely access to medical information has been a
stumbling block for creating a seamless consumer experience. With a
trusted foundation based on transparency and cryptography, we will
provide a faster, safer and more secure way to exchange medical
information to transform the consumer healthcare
experience."
"HCSC is continuously exploring how technology and data can
improve the lives of our members by reducing fragmentation of
information and connecting parts of the health care system," said
Steve Betts, senior vice president
and chief information officer, HCSC. "We are proud to be part of
this collaboration focused on enhancing technical knowledge,
understanding capabilities and unlocking the possibilities to drive
quality, affordable care."
"Blockchain's unique attributes make it suitable for large
networks of members to quickly exchange sensitive data in a
permissioned, controlled, and transparent way," said Lori Steele, general manager for Healthcare and
Life Sciences for IBM. "The fact that these major healthcare
players have come together to collaborate indicates the value they
see in working together to explore new models that we think could
drive more efficiency in the healthcare system and ultimately
improve the patient experience."
"This collaboration will enable healthcare-related data and
business transactions to occur in way that addresses market demands
for transparency and security, while making it easier for the
patient, payer and provider to handle payments" said Chris Ward, head of product, PNC Treasury
Management. "Using this technology, we can remove friction,
duplication, and administrative costs that continue to plague the
industry."
Aetna, Anthem, HCSC, PNC Bank, and IBM are actively working to
further define the initial use cases for the health utility
network. The collaboration will add additional members to the
network in the coming months including other health organizations,
healthcare providers, startups, and technology
companies.
About Aetna
Aetna, a CVS Health business, serves an
estimated 39 million people with information and resources to help
them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna
offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and
consumer-directed health insurance products and related services,
including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans,
and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care
management services, workers' compensation administrative services
and health information technology products and services. Aetna's
customers include employer groups, individuals, college students,
part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers,
governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and
expatriates. For more information, visit www.aetna.com and explore
how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews
About Anthem, Inc.
Anthem is working to transform health care with trusted and caring
solutions. Our health plan companies deliver quality products and
services that give their members access to the care they need. With
over 73 million people served by its affiliated companies,
including nearly 40 million within its family of health plans,
Anthem is one of the nation's leading health benefits companies.
For more information about Anthem's family of companies, please
visit www.antheminc.com/companies
About Health Care Service Corporation
Health Care Service Corporation is the country's largest
customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer
overall, with more than 15 million members in its Blue Cross and
Blue Shield plans in Illinois,
Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. A Mutual Legal Reserve Company, HCSC is
an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association. HCSC has a rating of A+ (Strong) from Standard and
Poor's, A1 (Good) from Moody's and A (Excellent) from A.M. Best
Company. For more information, please
visit HCSC.com, visit our Facebook page or
follow us at Twitter.
About IBM
IBM is recognized as the leading enterprise blockchain provider.
The company's research, technical and business experts teams have
broken barriers in transaction processing speeds, developed the
most advanced cryptography to secure transactions, and are
contributing millions of lines of open source code to advance
blockchain for businesses. IBM is the leader in open-source
blockchain solutions built for the enterprise. Since 2016, IBM has
worked with hundreds of clients across financial services, supply
chain, government, retail, digital rights management and healthcare
to implement blockchain applications, and operates a number of
networks running live and in production. The cloud-based IBM
Blockchain Platform delivers the end-to-end capabilities that
clients need to quickly activate and successfully develop, operate,
govern and secure their own business networks. IBM is an early
member of Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created
to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. For more
information about IBM Blockchain,
visit https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/ or follow us on
Twitter at @ibmblockchain.
About PNC
PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial
Services Group, Inc (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest
diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its
customers and communities for strong relationships and local
delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of
lending products; specialized services for corporations and
government entities, including corporate banking, real estate
finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset
management. For information about PNC,
visit www.pnc.com.
Contact:
Jessica Emond
IBM External Relations
jessica.emond@ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM