UnitedHealth Group teams up with its rival Humana to launch a pilot program based on Blockchain technology to better track provider information, the company said in a press release.
On Monday, April 2, UnitedHealth has announced the pilot project in conjunction with Kentucky-based Humana, New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics and a New York firm called MultiPlan.
“Industry estimates indicate that $2.1 billion is spent annually across the health care system chasing and maintaining provider data,” the companies said in a statement.
“The pilot will examine how sharing data across health care organizations on blockchain technology can improve data accuracy, streamline administration and improve access to care.”
The first target is to look at whether the Blockchain technology can help ensure that the list of doctors and hospitals in a health plan’s directory of network providers stays current — an important task so that patients maintain access to their doctors and health plans avoid regulatory scrutiny.
The insurers will launch the new program this summer, along with QuestDiagnostics and health insurance consultants at Multiplan, to see whether they can cut costs by sharing data and reduce the administrative burden of keeping lists accurate.