There is no question about the importance of the healthcare industry worldwide, as people universally benefit from access to medicines, treatment, and insurance. However, this common position has meant that while there has been growth and evolution, the industry has faced little real pressure to move into the 21st century in terms of technology.

Healthcare’s problems aren’t exclusive to the pace of technological innovation, but rather what that lack of advancement means. Instead of creating more open systems that make accessing patient and provider data easier, this information is kept in heavily isolated silos that limit patients’ ability to make the best decisions for themselves. Insurance companies have complicated and layered bureaucracies that are inefficient and costly. More importantly, the costs of healthcare continue to rise, far outpacing the average consumer’s ability to pay them.

Even so, emerging technologies from AI to blockchain are being applied to drive to industry-wide evolution and improve treatment, access, and costs for patients and providers alike. We had an opportunity to sit with Varun Panjwani, CEO of HealthFX—a blockchain-based healthcare platform for patients and providers—to talk about the state of the industry, as well as HealthFX’s vision for the future.

What are the causes for the current state of the healthcare industry? As we’ve seen, costs keep rising, and at least in the US, the services available are not matching their costs.

I think the healthcare system today is on the verge of a systemic breakdown which stems from two issues—the integrity of and the ability to share data (or the lack thereof); and the burden being placed on medical systems from the sheer number of patients.

With regard to the first issue, systems are not communicating with each other, which leads to data silos. There is a lack of clarity about patients’ medical history, which many times means they cannot understand themselves what their own condition is. This results in costly data verification processes, redundant tests, and lengthened administrative tasks which place a burden on providers. On the non-administrative side, it also leads to a greater likelihood of fraudulent insurance claims (by providers and patients alike), as well as misdiagnoses that stem from incomplete information. This is severely amplified by the rising demands placed on the system.

How did we arrive at a point where, despite having significantly more options for patients’ treatments, they seem to have less access to them?

It has to do with the rapidly increasing size of the aging population that is straining healthcare systems. The sector is simply unable to keep pace with demand for care and qualified specialists. This is more so the case when you consider the nearly 80,000 academic papers produced every year—a knowledge base that is virtually impossible to absorb and translate into practice. This leads to increasingly narrow sub-specializations but no real platform where patients can find guidance on the care options available to them. Often, this means patients must seek private options for the best care, though pricing is a real issue.

Why are data silos so dangerous to the healthcare industry?

The first big issue is that they lead to higher medical costs. This is the result of a lack of transparency that makes the industry ripe for insurance fraud, among other things. Moreover, having to build stopgap solutions to improve communication such as intermediaries increases friction and costs that are passed on to consumers.

More importantly, these silos are a real medical risk for patients. Having limited information about medical history and treatments leads to misdiagnoses based on incomplete or incorrect data. For patients, this means more tests and treatments that could prove ultimately fatal. This doesn’t even account for the social costs and trauma patients develop over extended medical treatment.

What are the biggest friction points in healthcare today for patients and providers?

For one, the lack of data for patients creates serious issues at the initial point of contact for patients, as they can’t make the most informed decisions based on their limited data. Silos affect not just the data they store, but how information is moved between providers and where it is available.

I think here it is important to look at blockchain as a viable solution to this problem. However, I should note that the value isn’t just in the technology, but how it is used to optimize process flows to improve communication. This means creating flows that allow for use by patients, providers, and other stake-holders, whether between providers or between patients and their providers.

What is blockchain’s value to healthcare, especially on the administrative side?

There are several key aspects, in my mind. For one, it shifts the burden from a centralized system that is under significant strain to a decentralized one that empowers individuals over providers. Additionally, it provides a layer of trust and security which allows for better data processing. This lowers overall insurance processing costs and assists with AI-driven diagnosis, as well as patient-provider matching. More importantly, it bridges the communication gap between patients and providers.

In terms of the tokens, they create a simpler mechanism for both transactions and treatment verification. They also allow for mechanisms to provide access to discounted treatment for those who are unwell and rewards healthy patients simultaneously. Overall, it will reduce costs across the system while also removing key friction points.

HealthFX integrates blockchain with AI and Machine Learning. Why is emerging technology so important in solving long-standing problems?

These technologies are only new from the perspective of mass adoption and acceptance. However, they’ve been around for nearly a decade, and they have benefited from research and academic studies for niche applications. What blockchain does, which hasn’t been possible on a large scale until recently, is add trust to existing data and provide access to an exponentially larger data pool. This is exactly what AI and machine learning tools need to fully reach their potential. These systems are only as good as the data they can access.

The best example of this is IBM’s Watson and its use in cancer detection. With the massive amounts of data available, Watson has helped physicians more accurately detect Cancer at stage 0, while assisting in developing better treatment plans at every stage. While treatment decisions ultimately rest with physicians, these tools lower the time between detection and treatment, and raise the odds of successful outcomes.

What is the biggest problem HealthFX is looking to solve?

We are looking to bring together the power of technology with our eight plus years of experience in the medical industry. Our goal is to assist patients in finding the right care for their diagnosis, treatment, and profile. For example, an orthopedic specialist who focuses on knee replacements for western males would have different perspectives than one who focuses on ligament repairs in north Asian males. Our focus is on customized patient-provider matching.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving over the next 10 years as new technology filters in?

I think that as new technologies improve the overall infrastructure and flow of healthcare provision, patients will be more empowered and have greater control over their healthcare choices. This will place a greater emphasis on wellness and preventative care. Moreover, creating incentives for good health combined with greater efficiency will help reduce healthcare costs across the board, as well as lowering overheads for providers and insurers.