Accenture Healthcare Report: Blockchain a “Critical Component”

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Released last month, Accenture’s Digital Health Technology and Vision 2018 report highlighted the healthcare industry’s aggressive adoption of intelligent technologies, like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), but warned that new tools will be required to balance privacy and transparency. The report found that nine of ten healthcare executives believe that blockchain technology will be a critical component in enabling a frictionless business environment over the next three years, but also believe that microservice will be essential for scaling ecosystems.

Of 100 healthcare executives interviewed for the report, three of four said they expected to invest in IoT and smart sensor technology this year, and four of five said that their organizations are currently using data to drive automated decision making at an unprecedented scale.

Other finding included more than four of five executives saying that virtual and augmented reality technologies remove the hurdle of distance in access to people, information, and experiences, with nearly half of healthcare providers saying they intend to invest in these technologies in the next year. Four of five executives also believe that generating real-time insights from high volume data inputs will require some form of computing ‘at the edge’, where data is analyzed before it is warehoused or validated. The same proportion believes that cloud integration will be required to ensure that data and insights from new processing techniques are shared fully and effectively throughout their organizations.

Kaveh Safavi M.D., J.D., Head of Accenture’s Global Health Practice said, “Intelligent technologies, such as AI, are enabling health organizations to evolve at speed, collaborate with other entities and create deeper, more meaningful relationships with patients across various care settings. As this paradigm-shifting technology evolves – making business more dynamic than ever before – organizations will remain responsible for demonstrating data stewardship and designing systems with trust and transparency to bolster the societal benefits of these technologies.”