MDW in the news
MDW to debut radiology blockchain software at RSNA 2018
November 5, 2018
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW) is debuting at RSNA 2018 a blockchain-based software application designed to connect all players in the diagnostic digital imaging space.
With its open, decentralized communications infrastructure, encrypted data transmission, and immutable audit trails, MDW's blockchain marketplace enables individual radiologists and radiology groups to create new business relationships and get compensated immediately for services rendered.
Those wishing to contract for imaging reading services through the platform can purchase blocks of exam interpretation credits at competitive rates. They can then order a reading transaction with any qualified provider of their choice on the system. Once imaging specialists submit their report, payment credits are immediately applied to their account through a secure blockchain transaction. Radiologists can withdraw credits as cash immediately following the deposit.
Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW) announced the upcoming RSNA debut of its radiology blockchain platform
November 12, 2018
Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW) announced the upcoming RSNA debut of its radiology blockchain platform, "designed to connect all players in the diagnostic digital imaging ecosystem and create an open, transparent and fair marketplace." MDW claims that its platform will create business opportunities for radiologists and imaging centers while solving many current problems in imaging (service access, delivery, results communication, payment time, integration). This would allow imaging reading services to be contracted by purchasing blocks of exam interpretation credits, and then order a reading with a provider on MDW's system, with the provider receiving payment credits via a blockchain transaction.
MDW Unveils First Radiology Blockchain Platform at RSNA 2018
November 13, 2018
Platform designed to streamline access and communication among all players in diagnostic digital imaging ecosystem
November 13, 2018 - Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW) will debut the first radiology blockchain platform designed to connect all players in the diagnostic digital imaging ecosystem at the 2018 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, Nov. 25-30 in Chicago. MDW aims to build new business opportunities for radiologists and streamline access to imaging providers for all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, creating an open, transparent and fair marketplace.
Harnessing the power of the end-to-end radiology community, the MDW platform helps solve many of today's significant problems in imaging, according to the company:
- Service access;
- Delivery;
- Results communication;
- Speed of payment for services; and
- Integration across the continuum of care.
With its open, decentralized communications infrastructure, encrypted data transmission and immutable audit trails, MDW's blockchain marketplace enables individual radiologists and radiology groups to forge new business relationships and benefit from immediate compensation for services rendered. Radiology service organizations can easily take advantage of as-needed resources to transact with new clients, boost reading volume and decrease exam turnaround time.
At the same time, major issues like global data sharing, information technology (IT) interoperability, scan duplication, access to current and prior exams, and continuity of the patient record all become irrelevant, according to MDW, with an open blockchain foundation enabling linking disparate sources of medical data as required. As a result, the platform will be able to offer tangible benefits for patients, referring physicians, specialists who frequently use images, payers, malpractice insurers and more.
Those wishing to contract for imaging reading services through the platform purchase blocks of exam interpretation credits at competitive rates. They can then order a reading transaction with any willing provider of their choice on the system. Once imaging specialists submit their report, payment credits are immediately applied to their account through a secure blockchain transaction, eliminating today's significant delay in payments for reading services. Imaging specialists can withdraw credits as cash immediately following the deposit.
"Today healthcare is facing a significant international shortage of radiologists," says Michael Yuz, M.D., chief medical strategist for MDW. "Within the next several years, the US will face a similar escalating problem. Breaking down provider corporate silos and connecting radiologists across traditional disparate healthcare entities is more important than ever before to make the most of healthcare resources, manage costs and ensure efficient service delivery."
For more information: www.mdw.io
MDW Unveils First Radiology Blockchain Platform at RSNA 2018
26 Nov 2018
Medical Diagnostic Web {(MDW) New York, NY, USA} unveiled the first radiology blockchain platform designed to connect all players in the diagnostic digital imaging ecosystem at the 2018 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, November 25-30 in Chicago, Ill., USA.
With its decentralized communications infrastructure, encrypted data transmission and immutable audit trails, MDW's blockchain platform enables individual radiologists and radiology groups to securely forge new business partnerships and benefit from immediate compensation for services rendered.
Radiology service organizations can take advantage of as-needed resources to transact with new clients, boost reading volume and decrease exam TAT. The platform also provides extensive anatomized data for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) imaging algorithms. Delivering solutions for many of today's significant imaging problems, the blockchain platform significantly improves service access and delivery, results communication, speed of payment for services and data integration across the continuum of care.
The MDW platform cost-effectively harnesses the power of the medical imaging community to deliver image interpretation though blockchain technology. Patients, referring physicians, radiologists, cardiologists, other medical specialists, diagnostic facilities, hospitals, private and government payers, legal practices and more can order interpretation through credentialed platform participants.
"Today healthcare is facing a significant international shortage of radiologists," said Michael Yuz, M.D, chief medical strategist for MDW. "Within the next several years, the US will face a similar escalating problem. Breaking down provider corporate silos and connecting radiologists across traditional disparate healthcare entities is more important than ever before to make the most of healthcare resources, manage costs and ensure efficient service delivery."
Blockchain-based app store connects AI developers, providers and imaging centers
November 27, 2018
The marketplace will enable imaging centers to monetize their data while providing a centralized place for radiologists to browse for specific AI algorithms.
Medical Diagnostic Web has entered the fast-growing AI app store world, as it introduces an new marketplace on its medical imaging blockchain platform. Radiologists will have access to a range of specific AI algorithms that can augment their practices - and will be able to try before they buy, ensuring that they can find the correct solution they need.
WHY IT MATTERS
Healthcare imaging centers sit on top of massive amounts of data. Analyzing specific results can be time consuming for radiologists and even highly-trained technicians can miss things or make mistakes. AI algorithms help assist practitioners in diagnosis and prediction. Additionally, this data can and monetized through MDW's blockchain platform: anonymized datasets can be made available to vendors for additional product development and testing.
The creation of an integrated and secure marketplace allows for radiologists to search for and try specific applications, imaging centers to monetize and share their data securely, and for developers to both access data for test development and to promote their wares in a centralized and transparent environment.
THE LARGER TREND
AI algorithms are increasingly being brought in as "consults" for analyzing imaging. Leveraging machine learning to help interpret highly detailed images is already in place, and as more AI marketplaces spring up a wider range of algorithms are likely to continue to transform how health care organizations approach imaging.
At the same time, there is a shortage of quality datasets on hand for use in developing and testing new algorithms. Providing imaging centers with a way to securely monetize data that has been appropriately stripped of all personal information benefits both the developers and the data owners, respectively.
Blockchain is a decentralized and transparent record-keeping technology that is highly secure and resistant to data modification. It is increasingly used in healthcare as it enables organizations to share data while retaining strict audits and chain of custody information.
ON THE RECORD
"We envision this marketplace as sort of an app store for algorithms. Using this feature, imaging centers and hospitals can shop for and assemble an entire library of medical imaging algorithms fine-tuned to their needs," said MDW CEO Michael Averbach in a statement. "Through a convenient, homogenized resource, they will be able to take advantage of a full range of artificial intelligence applications to streamline workflow and enhance patient care."
Benjamin Harris is a Maine-based freelance writer and and former new media producer for HIMSS Media. Twitter: @BenzoHarris.
MDW Blockchain Platform Announces AI Algorithm Marketplace at RSNA 2018
November 27, 2018
Helps Radiologists and AI Vendors Make AI Algorithms Verifiable and Accessible
MDW - Medical Diagnostic Web - introduces to its medical imaging blockchain platform an artificial intelligence (AI) marketplace that enables radiologists to preview and purchase verifiable algorithms to enhance their practices. MDW will help AI vendors drive adoption of their technologies by providing a framework to allow radiology professionals to standardize evaluation of these algorithms. Imaging centers and hospitals will be able to conduct detailed searches for AI technology that meets their needs and access appropriate algorithms.
"We envision this marketplace as sort of an app store for algorithms. Using this feature, imaging centers and hospitals can shop for and assemble an entire library of medical imaging algorithms fine-tuned to their needs," says Michael Averbach, MDW CEO. "Through a convenient, homogenized resource, they will be able to take advantage of a full range of artificial intelligence applications to streamline workflow and enhance patient care."
MDW debuted its blockchain platform this fall as the first radiology offering designed to connect all players in the diagnostic digital imaging ecosystem to create an open, transparent and fair marketplace. Imaging facilities that employ the MDW platform own massive volumes of imaging data. The MDW platform enables them to monetize this data by making it available to AI product vendors in a form of anonymized, annotated datasets for algorithm training and verification.
"Using our platform, radiologists can get access to real working algos, imaging sites can monetize the volumes of data they store, and AI companies can access both the market to sell their wares and the quality datasets to build and improve their products," explains Michael Yuz, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Strategist for MDW. "Given that we are already supporting development of AI technology, building a marketplace for its sale is the next logical step."
With its open, decentralized infrastructure, encrypted data transmission and immutable audit trails, the MDW blockchain platform also enables individual radiologists and radiology groups to forge new business relationships and benefit from immediate compensation for services rendered. Radiology service organizations can easily take advantage of as-needed resources to transact with new clients, boost reading volume and decrease exam turn-around-time.
MDW aims to combat radiologist shortage with blockchain
December 04, 2018
Imaging has always had an entrepreneurial flair. Radiologists who, for example, launched outpatient centers or provided "NightHawk" remote reading services pioneered new delivery models for meeting clinical demand.
Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW) is following in the footsteps of such disruptive business models, according to CEO and co-founder Michael Averbach. The company recently launched a blockchain platform to match radiologists seeking more volumes with imaging centers in need of additional reading capacity to meet the demand of turnaround times.
"Our long-standing goal is to bring transparency and create an open and fair imaging marketplace connecting buyers and sellers through blockchain," Averbach told HCB News. "We align the system toward their interests and not to the benefit of large commercial entities, which might not necessarily align with interests of the doctors."
He said blockchain offers a viable solution to the looming prediction of a radiologist shortage. "We're not inventing anything new with blockchain, but rather, we're seeking to apply the advantages of this new technology to the imaging sector."
Averbach is no stranger to reinvention. A chain of acquisitions led to the sale of his last company, QuickOffice, which provided document management solutions to Google. He now wants to apply the advantages of blockchain to reinvent the business of medical imaging.
Blockchain offers several advantages. These include making transactional radiology workflow highly secure with a permanent, immutable record and audit trail. It is essentially a decentralized and continually updated database for all users and all transactions. Averbach said that it removes some of the critical operational "pain points" for radiologists created by silos in clinics and hospitals. Among the benefits of a blockchain solution is support for near-instant reimbursement for the radiologists.
Another application MDW is offering is a marketplace for the sale of medical imaging records to create massive data sets of annotated images needed to train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. This AI algorithm marketplace, as Averbach describes it, would enable imaging facilities to sell anonymous imaging files needed in AI development. He said this model would meet all applicable privacy and ownership laws governing such transactions.
"Eventually we envision expanding this marketplace to a sort of an app store for algorithms. Using this feature, imaging centers and hospitals can shop for and assemble an entire library of medical imaging algorithms fine-tuned to their needs," said Averbach in a company statement. "Through a convenient, homogenized resource, they will be able to take advantage of a full range of artificial intelligence applications to streamline workflow and enhance patient care."
MDW launched its service in the closed, invitation-only mode this fall, and has nearly 100 board-certified U.S. radiologists working on the platform to provide image reading services. Also, a handful of overseas radiologists are already providing annotation review for AI data files.
"Our blockchain model offers a transparent, fair and open marketplace for radiologists," added Averbach.
How Blockchain Could Solve Radiology's Problems
December 05, 2018
Trust - or a lack thereof - has led to the rise of the blockchain wave in healthcare. As the industry increasingly adopts digital technologies and undergoes a digital transformation, issues such as fraud, inefficiencies, and data privacy have cropped up - an estimated $455 billion is lost in global healthcare annually due to fraudulent means, discarded and mishandled data/records. With these issues being exposed, and more digital solutions becoming available to solve them, blockchain presents itself as the perfect underlying technology to address the trust deficit in healthcare.
Frost & Sullivan defines blockchain as "a new data structure that creates trusted, distributed digital ledgers for assets and other data. It is an immutable and time-stamped record of digital events shared peer to peer between different parties. It can only be updated by consensus of a majority of the participants in the system and, once entered, information is very hard to erase (immutable)."
This distributed digital ledger approach is already seeing adoption in hospitals for medical records (Vanderbilt University, Mayo Clinic, and Mount Sinai), for medical services platforms (Myongji Hospital, South Korea) and to improve data security (Columbia University).
Other organizations such as Humana, Optum, and United Health Insurance are piloting the technology for building physician directories and to reduce administrative burdens. Additionally, the Australian federal government is piloting the technology for providing researchers access to health records, while ZhongAn (insurance giant founded by Tencent and Alibaba) is piloting the tech for data collection and processing with 100 hospitals in China.
The market opportunity is expected to expand further, and according to industry research estimates nearly 1/3rd of healthcare organizations are working with blockchain technology. However, the current focus seems to around B2B enterprise use cases such as: health professional credentialing, medical billing management, revenue cycle management, contract adjudication, and track and trace. So what about radiology?
Radiology's evolving digital needs
The size of a typical medical imaging scan, on the conservative side, is about 200 MB. As the demand for radiological studies continues to rise globally, the redundant storage requirements mean a significant need for storage space. While this can be addressed by cloud storage applications, it is not just about storage - it is also about accessing those images when necessary for making interpretations in the future as well and in a secure manner. With precision medicine approaches now gaining ground, a holistic view of the patient means also accessing scans from other sources, such as pathology and dermatology, for example.
Such access to medical information is demanded by patients, as well as their doctors from other facilities. It is well understood that repeat imaging scans in different facilities for the same patient, and with cost variance of imaging services, results in inefficient spending of healthcare dollars - not to mention the frustration caused to the patient in an era of healthcare consumerization.
Moving large image files from one point to another poses some technical challenges, but adding to the complexity are stringent patient privacy laws, which induce bureaucracy in healthcare systems to provide access to data. And as a proverbial cherry on top, healthcare as an industry is a prime target for hackers to gain access to data - making cybersecurity a primary concern for custodians of such records.
Imaging centers that own vast tomes of medical imaging data are unable to efficiently leverage or monetize the data to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms because of these challenges. Because of burgeoning cost pressures in a value-based environment, they would benefit immensely from the additional revenue source. In addition, a shortage of radiologists globally (especially after-hours, tier-II, rural areas, and for sub-specialties) means lack of access or longer wait times - resulting in elongated turnaround times even for physicians to make diagnoses. For this, teleradiology acts a buoyant solution, but accessibility towards patient imaging scans continues to incur challenges in this field.
The same challenges also hinder the development of AI algorithms in the medical imaging space, which must be trained on existing imaging scans for them to 'learn'. While AI is poised to address some of the challenges afflicting radiology today, deep learning and machine learning systems depend on easier access to data with a wide variety (available through larger numbers of studies) to improve their capabilities. In essence, without easy access, AI development will remain stunted, and issues such as transfer learning challenges will persist.
Blockchain-based solutions for radiology
There are a few companies currently employing blockchain in the field of radiology. Two representative examples include MDW (Medical Diagnostic Web) and DeepRadiology, both of whom deal with AI, but in very different ways.
DeepRadiology is primarily an AI company, with solutions developed for head CT scans, and others under development. However, it plans to integrate blockchain technology for increasing its international presence, to support and incentivize ecosystem members who are part of developing and using DeepRadiology solutions, and to reduce healthcare costs. These second and third aims are also shared by the other player, MDW.
MDW is a blockchain-based decentralized platform that connects imaging facilities, radiologists, and AI developers. At the 2018 RSNA Annual Meeting, they unveiled their platform and also have existing clients on their system - individual radiologists, smaller imaging facilities and teleradiology groups. The goal with the platform is to provide crowd reading, second opinion, peer review, or quality control, in an open and transparent environment, as promised by the underlying technology itself.
MDW also specializes in sourcing medical imaging datasets for AI developers to access, allowing monetization of the anonymized, annotated data for imaging centers, while providing access to crucial training data for the developers. It has also launched a marketplace for AI algorithms to facilitate imaging facilities to make use of existing AI algorithms - this is expected to be similar to the cloud-based, on-demand platforms available from EnvoyAI, Nuance, and Blackford Analysis, but based on a blockchain-based payment platform. Next year, MDW expects to bring more functionality to the platform, while scaling up and acquiring more customers.
Other examples include MedNetwork and MediBloc, which both enable storing and sharing for medical information via blockchain networks. The former is focused solely on medical imaging data, while the latter store's health records (including diagnostic results), providing access to providers when visited by the patient. MedNetwork also has a telemedicine platform providing AI diagnostics and second opinions, somewhat similar to the approaches above.
The benefits of the technology for smaller players, and for teleradiologists are clear. And yet, these two platforms are still addressing only parts of the radiology paradigm for blockchain. Another use case for the technology for providers involves equipment lifecycle management. A solution provided by Spiritus Partners addresses critical industry challenges around device safety, quality and lifecycle management as they apply to all medical devices, including imaging equipment. As is evident, use cases for the technology are varied and, as yet, emerging.
The road ahead
Blockchain will not disrupt existing workflows, nor will it replace existing health IT systems such as DICOM or PACS, nor will it affect the interoperability standards such as HL7 or FHIR. However, it will act as an additional layer of trust and security for seamless interactions by automating the traditional consensus mechanism which is mutually agreed upon by all participants. Moreover, the convergence of the technology with other emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI will boost trust around them, promoting new care delivery models and monetization options.
Frost & Sullivan predicts that blockchain in healthcare will move beyond its hype next year. By the end of 2019, an estimated 5-10% of healthcare-focused enterprise blockchain applications will move from pilot stage to partial or limited commercial availability.
Blockchain for healthcare is still relatively immature, but select B2B commercial implementations examples include those by Change Healthcare and Hashed Health. This year, Change Healthcare announced limited availability of their Intelligent Healthcare Network for the claim adjudication use case. It also collaborated with TIBCO to develop blockchain-powered Smart Contracts for automating healthcare transaction processes. Hashed Health recently announced the initial corporate partners for their professional credentialing application called Procredex, including WellCare Health Plans, Spectrum Health, National Government Services, HealthLink Dimensions, LLC, and Accenture, among others. It is also planning to demo its performance-based contract adjudication and management platform called Signal Stream soon.
For radiology we expect some more organizations to get on board blockchain-based platforms such as MDW.
However, it is important to realize some of the limitations of this technology - blockchain is just one technology falling under the larger distributed-ledger technology umbrella, and it may not necessarily be the best. Over time, another technology may overcome blockchain as the better choice. Secondly, being a network play, the governance mechanisms need to be agreed upon first, before deployment of the infrastructure can begin, which is also why enterprise blockchain is a better near-time opportunity over a public network such as those being considered for national health records.
Will you be adopting blockchain in 2019?
A Link to a Better Marketplace?
January 10, 2019
Blockchain has the potential to connect digital imaging players more efficiently and securely than ever before, but can it overcome its limitations?
"A chain is no stronger than its weakest link."
This quote, by American philosopher William James, could be applied to the type of network necessary to successfully navigate the diagnostic imaging process. From referring physicians placing exam orders to radiology reporting, each step is a vital part of the process. What's driving the introduction of a relatively new technology called blockchain to radiology is the need to connect all participants in the diagnostic digital imaging process. In addition to more expedited processes, blockchain brings with it expectations that this technology will build new business opportunities for radiologists, as well as streamline access to imaging providers.
Blockchain, famous for its use with Bitcoin, is a technology that developers say could irreversibly link the data and information that connects radiologists with referring physicians. Described as a tool in creating a marketplace - or an ecosystem - for radiology, blockchain supports the development of an image management network that allows secure access by referring physicians, radiologists, treatment team members, and, eventually, even patients and their families. Blockchain, and its recorded attributes, incorporates a verification aspect that ensures stability of the network. Radiologists and radiology practices are credentialed and all transactions are validated and cannot be changed.
"The ultimate goal of the platform is to build a marketplace for radiology," says Michael Averbach, CEO and cofounder of Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW). "Using a blockchain platform makes the process transparent and fair to everyone involved. There's no taking advantage of any imaging facility or radiologist in the process. It's a marketplace for the people, by the people."
MDW introduced the first decentralized blockchain platform connecting health care facilities, radiologists, and AI companies. The platform is currently in a "closed beta" status, but Averbach says results so far are positive.
"This isn't just a concept," he says. "This is a working platform today. We have enough users on the platform now to be able to see a fast turnaround time from when the exam is done to when the radiologist provides a report and subsequently receives payment for services rendered."
Building Blocks
Blockchain consists of blocks of digital data linked together in an immutable chain in a manner that prevents any block from being altered. As each transaction occurs and the parties involved agree to the details of that transaction, it is encoded into a block of digital data and uniquely signed or identified. There's no opportunity for new data to cut in line - it's impossible to insert one block in between two existing blocks.
Blockchain allows for the secure sharing of records among network members, eliminating the need to reconcile disparate ledgers that can contain different types of shared data such as transaction records, attributes of transactions, and credentials. Each member of the network must have access privileges; information is shared only on a need-to-know basis.
Averbach says that the MDW blockchain platform addresses common problems within the digital imaging process, including service access, delivery, communicating results, speed of payment for services, and integration across the continuum of care. From a business perspective, MDW also enables transparency, allowing users to see an open record of transactions.
"Participants can see what's going on in the platform and, with that, can trust that the process is working in a fair and equitable manner," he says.
MDW utilizes an open, decentralized communications infrastructure, encrypted data transmission, and inalterable audit trails. MDW's blockchain marketplace enables individual radiologists and radiology groups to create new business relationships, Averbach says. He refers to the process as a "smart contract" for diagnostic imaging. Smart contracts automatically execute transactions and record information onto the ledger without human intervention. Smart contract conditions are mutually agreed upon by network members and are a key component for establishing trust and efficiency between parties.
"Radiology is a high-transaction operation," he says. "There are lots of data and lots of parts to the process. It starts with an order for the imaging. Then the image is taken, and the radiologist reviews the image and provides a report. That report needs to go back to the referring physician, and that information might eventually be shared with the patient. A blockchain platform enables there to be an immutable record of the process, from imaging through to payment transactions."
Opening Up the Marketplace
Averbach says blockchain could be applicable to other areas of health care; however, the practice of radiology lends itself well to the multifaceted discipline.
"In radiology, the workflow is a series of transactions," he says. "The more transactions there are in a process, the more blockchain-friendly that process is."
All transactions are maintained on the blockchain platform, which is like a database in that regard. Once a case is in the database, it cannot be removed. Images, however, are stored securely in the cloud, in keeping with HIPAA compliance.
One benefit is that radiology organizations can see immediate compensation for services rendered. In addition, they gain access to resources on an as-needed basis to transact with new clients, increase reading volume, and decrease turnaround times from imaging to reporting.
Averbach adds that global data sharing helps to eliminate major issues such as IT interoperability, scan duplication, access to current and prior exams, and continuity of patient records.
To contract for imaging reading services through the MDW blockchain platform, users purchase blocks of exam interpretation credits, creating a "cabinet" on the system through which they interact. They can select any willing provider who is a part of the system.
"Through the cabinet, radiologists choose the work they want to take, post reports, and conduct other services related to the work they take on," Averbach says.
Radiologists need to be credentialed to join the platform, he says. In addition, they will only be able to take assignments for which they are licensed.
There is also no fee to join the platform, he says.
Once imaging specialists submit their report, payment credits are immediately applied to their account through a secure blockchain transaction. The system also allows imaging specialists to withdraw credits as cash immediately following the deposit.
"The MDW blockchain platform has the ability to revolutionize health care delivery because of its innate ability to support communications, workflow, transparency, and accountability to form an open, fair, and decentralized marketplace," Averbach says. "The possibility of new and creative partnerships to bring a full range of medical skill sets wherever needed is limitless, when organizational structure and geography become irrelevant. It's a win-win for everyone involved."
Strategic Decision
Another company linking its efforts to blockchain is teleradiology service and technology provider NucleusHealth, which uses Ethereum, an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform. According to Chris Hafey, chief technology officer of NucleusHealth, Ethereum serves as a common point, bridging processes between users.
Hafey says there are a number of different blockchain technologies, some proprietary and some open source. There are similarities among them but enough differences that interoperability could be a problem. Since beginning to implement blockchain approximately one year ago, Hafey says NucleusHealth is optimistic but has seen mixed results.
"We've made more progress than expected and less progress than expected," he says. "On the positive side, we've experienced fast movement and innovation, more tooling, robust infrastructure, and increased number of choices for how to initiate blockchain projects. There has also been more understanding in the industry regarding how blockchain is different and why it's important to use."
A factor that has hindered blockchain's progress for NucleusHealth, Hafey says, is the speed with which the technology is evolving. Enhancements are good for productivity but make it difficult for implementation and could be slowing adoption.
"By the time you can get the technology implemented, it's almost outdated," he says. "We've implemented Ethereum twice but haven't productized it, due to changes with the technology. The technology is moving so quickly that it's creating a more conservative mindset among decision makers. They want to implement blockchain but hate to do so and then find that there's a newer version."
Also, because blockchain is a permanent storage device, Hafey says there is some caution involved in making the decision to implement.
"As compared to other technologies, blockchain can't be changed once it's been implemented," he says. "If you switch blockchain technologies after implementation, you won't have an immutable record anymore. The big question is, 'What is the right blockchain technology and when will it be ready?'"
Another factor to consider is how well the selected blockchain technology handles the high transaction rates experienced with radiology. A standard EHR system can handle 1,000 transactions per second, while Ethereum can currently handle only five transactions per second.
"Who wants to invest in a technology that won't allow the business to scale?" Hafey says. "And to improve scalability, will you have to make compromises in other areas, such as security? Scalability is a concern within the industry. Blockchain would become more of a niche product if this issue can't be fixed."
When making the decision to implement blockchain technology, Hafey recommends coming up with a comprehensive strategy.
"Implementing blockchain isn't just a one-off decision," he says. "You want a regionwide view. You want to consider how it will work with your image-sharing methods and your PACS. If this is the blockchain technology you want to adopt now, will it still be the blockchain technology you want to be using 10 years from now?"
Increased market awareness, through speaking at conferences and other educational efforts, will help bring attention to the potential value in using blockchain to create a marketplace for efficient and cost-effective radiology transactions, Averbach says. It could just be a matter of tightening up the weaker links in the chain.
- Kathy Hardy is a freelance writer based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. She is a frequent contributor to Radiology Today.
Overcoming Radiology Barriers with Blockchain
January 15, 2019
The blockchain technology is driving the future of the healthcare industry. The digital ledger can help image providers to maintain and safely share a massive amount of data with patients and doctors. Blockchain platforms in radiology can help solve many problems in imaging processes like service access, delivery, result communication, and speed of payment for services. The distributed digital ledger approach is adopted in hospitals for medical records, medical services platforms, and to improve data security. It is also used for building physician directories and reducing administrative burdens.
Radiology is becoming an increasingly important foundation of modern medicine in health care, helping to guide diagnosis and treatment. A typical image size is approximately 200 MB, and the storage space is added to the cloud storage applications where images are stored and can be accessed from. The blockchain plays an important role in this by securing the image and giving access only to patients and doctors. Medical image storage in the cloud enables doctors from other hospitals to access the image, which reduces the cost of scanning again.
There are many companies which have employed blockchain in radiology. Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW) and DeepRadiology have employed blockchain with AI in different ways. MDW blockchain platform connects imaging facilities, radiologists, and AI developers which is serving several clients. MDW also specializes in providing access to medical imaging data sets for AI developers, enabling anonymous, annotated data to be monetized for imaging centers, and providing access to crucial training data for developers.
DeepRadiology is a blockchain platform that aims to offer a variety of healthcare solutions. The platform's main objective is to use the latest image analysis in-depth learning algorithms to improve radiology and healthcare. DeepRadiology's objective is to use blockchain and AI to produce products that provide life-saving technologies at the lowest possible rates. A deep learning system based on blockchain can process images more efficiently, with a lower cost and higher accuracy.
Blockchain will add a layer of trust and security for seamless interactions by automating the traditional method. If the healthcare integrates its several systems with blockchain, it will be able to gain more trust, promoting new care delivery models and monetization options.
