The award was announced during the ConV2X 2021 conference, themed “Blueprint for a New Digital Health Era,” broadcast November 9-11, 2021. The winning article is titled: "The Last Mile: DSCSA Solution Through Blockchain Technology: Drug Tracking, Tracing, and Verification at the Last Mile of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain with BRUINchain," by lead author William Chien (PharmD, MBA) and fellow authors from UCLA Health and LedgerDomain. The article is located at https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v3.134.

The groundbreaking article was part of the FDA’s Pilot Project Program for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), and centered on a healthcare center pharmacy operating solely on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. It presented the highest number of BHTY 2020 reader engagements, with the most downloads and views.

The study demonstrated a 100% success rate across scanning, expiration detection, and counterfeit detection; and paperwork reduction from approximately 1 hour to less than a minute. Projecting out to 4.2 billion prescriptions being dispensed each year in the United States, the study found that distributed ledger technologies (such as blockchain) would not only save $183 million in annual labor costs, but also avert bad or fraudulent transactions, reduce the need for safety stock, and enhance the detection and removal of potentially dangerous drugs from the drug supply chain to protect U.S. consumers.

Journal publisher and ConV2X curator shares vision and insights for scientific communications and scholarly publishing along with market predictions for the digital health and blockchain in healthcare emeging markets and research fields.

Biography

Tory Cenaj is the Founder and Publisher of Partners in Digital Health (PDH), a forward reaching publishing and communications company. PDH publishes Blockchain in Healthcare Today, the world’s first open access peer reviewed journal disseminating distributed ledger technology research and innovations in healthcare, and Telehealth and Medicine Today, the international  open access peer reviewed journal examining the value of telehealth and clinical automation. The portfolio includes the companion Converge2Xcelerate (ConV2X) annual symposium, pitch competition, and PDH Institute. Her leadership experience reflects all facets of healthcare publishing and communications heading a premier MM dollar multispecialty portfolio including digital and international licensing across five continenets. Her industry experience includes leading publication planning, P&L, medical education and clinical trials management. She currently serves as executive advisor to the IEEE SA in telehealth and DCT verticals in addition to her role as publisher.

The editorial is taken from commentary presented at the ConVerge2Xcelerate (#ConV2X) 2021 Symposium entitled "Blueprint for a New Digital Health Era." Tory Cenaj is the Owner and Publisher of Partners in Digital Health (PDH). The views expressed are solely her own and do not reflect those of the editorial board, reviewers, ambassadors, licensees or staff members affiliated with PDH.  

During our 2019 ConVerge2Xcelerate (ConV2X) conference in Boston, we focused on the theme "Proving Market Value with Pragmatic Innovation in Healthcare" (see https://conv2x-2019.eventcreate.com/). This year, along with BHTY editorial board members, conference speakers were invited to join with Tory Cenaj, Publisher of BHTY, to contribute their expertise and share insights for the near-term landscape of blockchain in healthcare.  

In 2020, Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY) begins its third year of publication. We thank our global community of passionate leaders and early adopters for their support and diligence in making technology innovation in healthcare attainable for both the healthcare consumers who are the key stakeholders in patient-centered care and the broader healthcare system.

To review blockchain lessons learned in 2018 and near-future predictions for blockchain in healthcare, Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY) asked the world's blockchain in healthcare experts to share their insights. Here, our internationally-renowned BHTY peer-review board discusses their major predictions.Based on their responses, presented in detail below, ten major themes (Table ) for the future of blockchain in healthcare will emerge over the 12 months. CORRIGENDUM: This following paragraph has been corrected (page 3, first paragraph) from: "Fourth, with over 1000 insurance companies in the country, filling out paperwork to documentprovider training and licensure is a nightmare. The Synaptic Health Alliance aims to simplifythis process by putting all credentialing information on a distributed public ledger for all stakeholders to access.1" To: "Fourth, keeping health care provider directories maintained by health plans up-to-date is a critical, complex issue facing organizations across the health care system. The first project of the Synaptic Health Alliance aims to simplify this process by putting provider demographic information on a permissioned blockchain for Alliance members to access and maintain.1"

No abstract available.

Session Description: Significant portions of usable, and funded research never make it through the data funnel, getting lost as "dark knowledge." Blockchain technology offers new ways to bring this dark knowledge to light.  The panel will discuss how blockchain technology impacts research and scholarly outputs including attribution, reproducibility, immutibility and peer review. Discussions will include how the technology can promote more knowledge, abbreviating time to market. Emerging use cases will be highlighted to demonstrate how the technology has dislodged traditional academic publishing practices including the ability to mine dark knowledge for potential scientific break throughs.

Thank you for taking the time to Converge2Xcelerate today. We thank you all and hope the experience you take away is one of value, and one you will share with others, in moving planning and initiatives forward.

The topics covered today spanned an array of themes. Moving forward, let us consider the following to delve deeper to understand:

1. Disintermediation – the effect on clinical trials, the drug supply chain, and moving information  thru a multi-stake holder processes, in real-time, to reduce costs
2. Concepts such as universal basic income, a one party payer system, and how the world can truly transform toward unity and equity
3. Keeping value and benefit to patients at the core of policy and systems initiatives
4. How will we educate patients to be better purveyors of their own health data, and partake in a new ecosystem where they become shareholders and owners

We congratulate the 2nd Annual  Innovation Ignition Competition Winners:

• 1st Place: Happify Health
• 2nd Place: BitMED
• Honorable Mention: WillChain

Thanks to:

William Baker, debate moderator, from NYU Global Debate. Thanks too, student volunteers from Columbia, New York, and Tulane Universities.

Special Thanks to:

Platinum and Blockchain Track Sponsor, Consensys Health

Bronze Sponsor, Boehringer Ingelhiem

Sponsors:  HealthVerity, Izzy, Cadent,Burst IQ, Nonnatech, 1800PR

Partners: Healthcare Informatics, Health Data Management, Pharmacy Podcast, and all our friends

In addition, thanks to:

• John Halamka
• Frank Ricotta, CEO BurstIQ,
• Matt Bird and Stella, at 1800PR
• Tiffany Delorenzo, Conference Director, calm, cool, and perpetually “on it”
• The Charles Group
• John Russo, BHTY Managing Editor, who could not join us today
• Board members, moderators, volunteers, Columbia staff, and most all – panelists and participants with an eye on the future of better health and equity, for all citizens

 
Join us and become part of the dialog.  To subscribe to BHTY, submit a manuscript, or commentary/opinion article, go to https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/user/register

Blockchain in Healthcare Today Peer Review Journal

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