SafetyDetetcives spoke with the CEO of Solve.Care, Pradeep Goel, about how his company is changing the healthcare industry, the challenges they face by merging healthcare and blockchain, compliance considerations, and more.
Can you talk about your background and how that led you to your current role at Solve.Care?
Having now collected over 30 years of experience in healthcare, Solve.Care is the culmination of my personal and professional goals of improving the way we experience healthcare when we need it most. Prior to founding and serving as Solve.Care’s CEO, I was involved in the insurance and technology sides of the business. I co-founded my first healthcare company in 1991, Dakota Imaging, an insurance software company that quickly became a dominant player in the space and later sold to WebMD. Several years later, I designed and built solutions for public programs like Medicaid and Medicare, in addition to welfare programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) under the Bush and Obama administrations.
After establishing four healthcare IT companies and navigating the many silos of care delivery, I became keenly aware of how limiting these infrastructures were in serving all parties in the pursuit of care – whether you’re a patient, physician, practice, hospital, or insurance provider. Coupled with the worsening condition of health data management, and data breaches impacting millions of patients each month, it became clear something needed to change. I am convinced that blockchain is the answer to providing a decentralized tool needed in lowering barriers to healthcare access, improving the security of patient data, and enhancing how healthcare is managed and delivered.
How is Solve.Care changing the healthcare industry?
Solve.Care is a platform that implements blockchain technology to improve healthcare processes for patients, physicians, and other health players like insurance companies and employers. Solve.Care uses its tech stack to restore patient choices, establish control over one’s health data, provide insight into their care plan, and receive transparent cost and payment options.
On the physician side, Solve.Care gives these individuals access to pertinent patient data that reduces friction points while simultaneously widening the scope of whom they can treat. For administrators, Solve.Care is refining how healthcare is run from an administrative and business perspective by making certain patient and physician data available to the right players, providing a more efficient care process and allowing for quick and direct payments to be made to the physician.
Currently there are a number of care, payment, and data silos that make it difficult for the above parties to navigate treatment, but Solve.Care lowers the boundaries upholding those silos to create an open playing field for all to do what we need to do – deliver and receive care.
What are some of the biggest challenges of introducing blockchain to healthcare?
The lack of technical knowledge in the healthcare industry can make it difficult for healthcare organizations to understand how blockchain technology works and how it can be applied to their operations. Additionally, the lack of healthcare digital applications can be a challenge for implementing blockchain, as it requires a shift away from traditional paper-based methods.
There is a lack of government involvement in adopting blockchain technology in healthcare, which can slow down the implementation process. But with the increasing volume of patient data breaches impacting millions of individuals, like that of Congress earlier this year and now the MCNA notifying 8.9 million people in June 2023.
What are some of the key compliance considerations and regulatory challenges that need to be taken into account when implementing blockchain solutions in the healthcare sector?
A solid compliance strategy is necessary for blockchain-enabled solutions as they should improve and not undermine compliance with existing security requirements for healthcare organizations. Blockchain solutions should be interoperable with existing systems to ensure seamless data exchange. Blockchain technology should avoid adding additional steps for the end-user in order to avoid negatively impacting workflow and the quality of care. Partnerships and collaborations also face compliance challenges because of differing regulatory environments and resistance from legacy institutions.
What are the main barriers or hurdles that need to be overcome for the broader adoption of blockchain in healthcare?
The slow adoption of new technology in healthcare is one barrier to adoption, and implementing blockchain would require the healthcare industry to change its operating processes and infrastructure. In other words, it can be expensive, and healthcare organizations may not have the budget to invest in it. Blockchain is a completely new technology and requires an infrastructure to be built from the ground up, but once it’s more user-friendly, it can be adopted more widely. Healthcare is distributed, with the entities involved not willing to share their data, so it is hard to implement, as well as a lack of standards and regulations.
Looking ahead, what are your predictions for the future of blockchain in healthcare? Are there any emerging trends or developments that you find particularly exciting or promising?
Since the current healthcare infrastructure makes it difficult for patients to have control over how and where their data is shared, with several healthcare apps selling patient data to media giants like Meta and thousands of hospital websites found tracking user data, consumers and everyday patients will look to an alternative solution for care delivery. We can leverage blockchain technology to give patients more control and peace of mind, providing data security and privacy. This trend is cemented even further with the increasing instances of cyberattacks impacting the healthcare industry far more than others. Something needs to be done to protect our sensitive information, and more parties will begin to look to the blockchain to build out a future for healthcare.