How Blockchain Capabilities Advance Data Sharing and Benefit Virtual Care

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a provider typically needed to see the patient in an in-person visit, which was, in part, dictated by reimbursement policies of the payer (e.g., difference in reimbursement between an in-person and a telemedicine visit), and orchestrating the logistical efforts that the telemedicine visit was secure and private.

However, COVID-19 created the necessity to increase virtual care to facilitate social distancing, and caused healthcare resources to be reallocated to treat COVID-19 patients, limiting access to routine diagnostic imaging procedures and preventative monitoring services for non-COVID-19 patients.

In response, new telehealth services were rapidly deployed to provide...