Page 5 - HME Business, June 2018

Volume 25 Number 6 June 2018
Editor’s Note
HME and Blockchain
What could this important security technology mean for our industry? It turns out, a lot.
Editor
Art Director Production Coordinator
Director of Online Product Development
Group Publisher
Integrated Media Consultant
David Kopf
(949) 265-1561
Laurie Layman Charles Johnson
Marlin Mowatt Karen Cavallo
(760) 610-0800 Caroline Stover (323) 605-4398
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Blockchain is a word you’re likely hearing in the news pretty frequently, and now you might even be hearing it in industry parlance, but you might not have any idea what it means. Don’t worry; you’re not alone. Blockchain has been a somewhat rarified technology for a decade, and it’s only now coming to light as various industries seek a better way to keep data safe.
Blockchain was originally developed in 1991 to timestamp information, but was repurposed in 2008 to help the Bitcoin crypto-currency stay, well ... more “crypto.” The reason you’ve started hearing more about it is due to Bitcoin’s skyrock- eting valuations.
Understanding Blockchain
So what is blockchain, what does it do, and why in the heck am I talking about it in relation to our industry?
A blockchain is a distributed set of information that is kept in a network. The data is stored in blocks. For example, it could store the information related to a specific financial transaction (Joe gave Jane $50, for example).
That block also has a unique hash, which is essentially a digital code that identifies that block. If you change the information stored in that block, it becomes a new block with a news hash, while also retaining the hash of the previous block. This creates the chain of blocks.
This is important because it lets you see when a block has been changed. If a block in a chain is tampered with, its hash will change. Then all subsequent references to that block will point to the wrong block.
To add further security, blockchains negate the processing power of today’s computers, which could conceivably recalculate a series of hashes, by incorporating a “poof of work” mechanism that slows down the process of creating new blocks by multiple minutes.
Finally, as mentioned, the system is distributed across a peer-to-peer network. New blocks are sent to all nodes on the network, which then confirm with one another that the block is valid and hasn’t been compromised. Any blocks that have been compromised will be rejected.
These three security elements mean that it’s
virtually impossible to tamper with a block and have it accepted by the blockchain network.
What Does Blockchain Mean for HME?
Needless to say, if blockchain can keep a currency such as Bitcoin from being hacked, various indus- tries have started looking at this technology as a method for keeping data secure. And this is where healthcare comes in, including our industry.
Think of it: right now, there are various health- care entities — HME providers included — that still rely on fax transmission as a central way to share information with one another because they trust it more than current data security methods. Think about it, there is still a good deal of critical patient information and claims documentation circulating via fax.
Now there are some great fax automation and document management systems out there that can help providers make sense of all that, but there can be no denying that in this is an incredibly time- consuming and costly workflow. In fact, it’s almost anachronistic given today’s healthcare information technology.
Think about how much faster and accurate claims documentation would be with a HIPAA- compliant, information-sharing system that lever- aged blockchain to keep that information secure? How would that impact your time to process claims? How would it speed reimbursement? How would that mitigate claims audits?
And that’s just claims-related issues. There are a variety of innovations that are essentially waiting in the wings because they need better data security. Imagine how much faster new care paradigms such as remote patient monitoring and management would come online if they utilized security proto- cols that everyone trusted?
This is why every HME professional should monitor blockchain in the healthcare marketplace. It’s a simple concept, but it could radically change the way providers work and even care for patients.
David Kopf Editor
HME Business
Steve Ackerman
President Spectrum Medical
Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq.
Chairman of the Health Care Group of Brown & Fortunato, P.C.
Rob Baumhover
Director of Retail Services for VGM Retail Services
Ty Bello, RCC
President and Founder Team@Work
Georgie Blackburn
Vice President, Government Relations and Legislative Affairs BLACKBURN’S
Todd Blockinger
Senior Director of Sales The MED Group
Rob Boyeye
Executive Vice President of HME Brightree LLC
Sandra Canally
President
The Compliance Team Inc.
George Coppola
Director of Marketing CAIRE Medical
John C Eberhart
President Eberhart Home Health Inc.
John Letizia
President of Laurel Medical Supplies Inc.
Joe Lewarski
Vice President of Global Respiratory and Sleep Drive Devilbiss
Ron Resnick
President Blue Chip Medical Products Inc.
Tom Ryan
President and CEO AAHomecare
Wayne Slavitt
Founder and CEO Mobül: The Mobility Store
Wayne van Halem
President and Founder The van Halem Group LLC
INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP
President & Group Publisher Group Publisher Group Circulation Director Group Marketing Director Group Social Media Editor
Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer Chief Technology Officer
Executive Vice President Executive Chairman
REACHING THE STAFF
Kevin O’Grady Karen Cavallo Irene Fincher Susan May Sydny Shephard
Rajeev Kapur Henry Allain Erik A. Lindgren
Michael J. Valenti Jeffrey S. Klein
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