The IT Giant has been working on a blockchain network for the healthcare industry. Now, Aetna, the United States health insurance tycoon, has joined the project.



IBM has a lot of blockchain-based projects in the development department. In October, the IT company launched a food traceability platform based on the blockchain. The company developed TradeLens, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform for supply chains. IBM also has been using the blockchain technology in India’s telecommunication industry. Now, the IT mogul has a huge partner in the healthcare project.



Streamline network



On 24th January, Reuters published a report concerning this topic. According to the statement, Aetna and another unknown health insurer joined IBM in the blockchain network project.



The platform aims at cutting costs. The blockchain system will be created to streamline insurance claims processing, payments, and manage directories. The statement says:



“Blockchain, the technology that underpins crypto-currencies such as bitcoin, is being increasingly adopted across varied industries. Financial services firms too note the distributed ledger technology has the potential to generate wide-ranging savings.”



IBM goes into healthcare



The news came only a few hours after IBM announced the whole project. According to the statement, the company will experiment with the Hyperledger Fabric, a well-known blockchain.

Can blockchain solve the mess of medical records? IBM announces tie-Up with healthcare providers https://t.co/K61Y1ZLcm5 #IBMBlockchain — IBM News Room (@IBMNews) 24 stycznia 2019

Barbara Hayes, an executive within IBM’s health division, said that healthcare has been behind time in technology due to the prevalence of legacy systems and the massive amounts of data scattered among many participants.



IBM is convinced that by working together, they will create specific applications, which would change the world.

Image by Katherine Welles / shutterstock.com

