Improving Provider Data Accuracy: A Collaborative Approach Using a Permissioned Blockchain

Authors

  • Todd Eury (Moderator) Pharmacy Podcast Network, Founder
  • Kyle Culver Humana, Solution Architect
  • Mike Jacobs Optum, Senior Distinguished Engineer

Abstract

Session Description: Billions of dollars are spent annually on provider data management, yet provider directories often contain inaccuracies that dramatically increase the cost of care while reducing its quality. This session will provide an overview of why Humana, MultiPlan, Optum, Quest Diagnostics and UnitedHealthcare have formed the Synaptic Health Alliance to explore the use of blockchain technology in tackling the challenge of accurate and efficient provider data management and sharing. It will highlight the current challenges and state of provider data exchange and the goals and approach of the initial pilot project for the alliance.


Learning Objectives :

  • Define the current state of provider data exchange
  • Evaluate the use of blockchain technology to address healthcare challenges
  • Explore how healthcare organizations can work together to leverage blockchain technology to provide more effective patient care

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Author Biographies

Todd Eury (Moderator), Pharmacy Podcast Network, Founder

"The most intriguing and important aspect of business is quality networking. To me, the most fulfilling part of my career has been building meaningful relationships which drive change, create improvements, and enhance people's lives."

Todd Eury grew up in Southwestern Pennsylvania in the small community of Evans City, thirty miles north of downtown Pittsburgh. He graduated summa cum laude from Geneva College with a dual degree in Business Administration & Human Resources. Todd started his professional career in telecommunications with Sprint's Small Business Division and spent 8 years in the field of business development for WorldCom and AT&T until entering the pharmacy technology sector of healthcare in 2004.

Todd helped to build a small software systems design company with barely 10 total customers to the most recognized long-term care pharmacy management system in the pharmacy industry, SoftWriters developers of FrameworkLTC. Having an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to launch his own company in the privately owned pharmacy sector, Todd created the “Pharmacy Technology Resource” which started from a small popular blog about pharmacy operators leveraging technology better to gain efficiency and maximize profitability.

In 2009, Todd launched the pharmacy industry’s first podcast about the Business of Pharmacy dedicated to healthcare professionals called the ‘Pharmacy Podcast Show’.

In 2011, the Pharmacy Technology Resource merged with a pharmacy-buying group called PharmacyGPO. Todd formed a partnership with a pharmacy owner and business developer in Pittsburgh and used H. D. Smith as their wholesaler to create a unique offering and building business for their pharmacy members through digital marketing and call center services.  Todd’s partners voted to sell the company in 2014 to a physician dispensing organization and he then began to consult for pharmacy software developers on improving their business development strategies, networking, and digital marketing efforts. 

In the fall of 2014, several pharmacists joined Todd’s podcast publication and the Pharmacy Podcast Show was transformed into the Pharmacy Podcast Network. Today the audio-blog publication is the U.S. Healthcare System’s largest network of podcasts dedicated to the profession of pharmacy with 23 co-hosts developing content for 15 different podcasts segmented on different topics like healthcare law, technology, medical cannabis, senior care, and pharmacogenomics.  The Pharmacy Podcast Network has a collective listener base of about 67,000 and has personalized podcast publications for national associations like the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy.

In 2015, Todd was contracted by WellMedRx to help build a mobile application to assist doctors in identifying if their patient’s were eligible for a pharmacogenomics test to ensure the medications they were taking would work as medically intended.

The world of pharmacy software and healthcare tech consulting wasn’t consistent enough and Todd found a new career in the field of opioid addiction recovery in business development and strategic marketing with national leader New Season headquartered in Orlando Florida, he has been with New Season since June 2016.

Todd is married to his wife Nicole who’s a nurse at a maximum-security state prison system and is a proud father to four daughters and two fur-babies. They live in Fayette County Pennsylvania and are planning to buy their second home in Eastern Florida to eventually live as “snow-birds” as they don’t like the cold winters of the northeast.

Kyle Culver, Humana, Solution Architect

Kyle Culver is a thought leader in the application of Blockchain Technologies to the Healthcare Industry. For the past 15 years, he has demonstrated his passion for software engineering across a wide variety of IT roles concentrating on development, integration, architecture and quality assurance.

In his current role as Principal Blockchain Architect at Humana Inc., Mr. Culver is a key member of the firm’s Technology Advancement team and a winner in the Blockchain challenge hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Mr. Culver holds Bachelor of Science and Masters of Engineering degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science, as well as an MBA in Entrepreneurship, all from the University of Louisville.

Mike Jacobs, Optum, Senior Distinguished Engineer

Mike Jacobs is a Senior Distinguished Engineer for Product Engineering and Data Solutions at Optum in Eden Prairie, MN. Mike is currently focused on high priority strategic technology initiatives such as blockchain, innovation and guiding the maturation of our agile architecture and engineering practices.  Mike is a voting member of the U.S. National Body working on the international standards for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, a member of the Optum Architecture Review Board, a member of several Patent Review Boards and a frequent conference speaker, most recently at CES 2018 and HIMSS 2018.

In his previous role, Mike was the Portfolio Architect responsible for the strategic architectural direction of the Risk, Quality and Network Solutions line of business and the approach taken by many of the projects implementing the strategy. Mike also advised the organization direction for Scaled Agile, architecture governance and technology standards.

Published

2021-01-03

How to Cite

Eury (Moderator), T., Culver, K., & Jacobs, M. (2021). Improving Provider Data Accuracy: A Collaborative Approach Using a Permissioned Blockchain. Blockchain in Healthcare Today. Retrieved from https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/article/view/62

Issue

Converge2Xcelerate (ConV2X) Special Podcast Edition

Section

Track: Telehealth

License

Creative Commons License

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