US-based health insurance company to secure medical data using blockchain technology

US-based major health insurance company Anthem is planning to use blockchain technology in its services. According to a recent report by Forbes, Anthem aims to provide patients with secure access to their medical data using blockchain technology. The company will also grant the option to share that data if they wish to. Speaking at the 8th Annual Forbes Healthcare Summit in New York, Anthem CEO Gail Boudreaux said:

What blockchain potentially gives us the opportunity to do is not worry about those trust issues. We have an opportunity now to share data that people can make their own decisions on.

Currently, the company is implementing a pilot test to smaller groups of members, who can use a mobile app to scan a QR code. The test will permit different healthcare providers to access their health records for a limited amount of time. This new blockchain-based system will be released in several phases in 2020. Anthem chief digital officer Rajeev Ronanki said:

We think it's a pretty transformative thing for health [...] We're essentially creating a permission-based system that would allow consumers to own their healthcare data, and then make it available to providers as appropriate.

At the beginning of 2019, Anthem collaborated with health insurance giant Aetna, PNC Bank and IBM to develop a blockchain network for the healthcare industry. Chris Ward, an executive at PNC Bank’s treasury management unit, stated that integrating a blockchain solution can uproot the friction, duplication and administrative costs that are present in the healthcare industry.