Scott Redman spent 2015 and 2016 posing as a physician while treating more than 100 American patients. He prescribed a nine-year-old child a 30-day supply of Vyvanse, a controlled substance used for A
Scott Redman spent 2015 and 2016 posing as a physician while treating more than 100 American patients. He prescribed a nine-year-old child a 30-day supply of Vyvanse, a controlled substance used for ADHD. Police arrested him and a court sentenced him to 13 years in prison. The damage extended beyond his conviction. The patients he treated may carry the trauma of receiving medical care from someone without credentials for the rest of their lives.
Identity theft represents just one way criminals compromise the healthcare system. The healthcare industry moves $9 trillion a year. Criminals target it through multiple avenues beyond stealing identities. They forge prescriptions to extract more drugs from pharmacies or file false insurance claims. The FBI puts annual U.S. losses from healthcare fraud at $80 billion. The European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network estimates annual losses at $260 billion.
Physicians founded Instant Access Medical, or iAM, to address these vulnerabilities. The team combines 50 years of healthcare experience. They turned to blockchain technology for a solution.
Healthcare fraud begins when criminals tamper with patient records that insurers depend on. The iAM founders saw in blockchain a permanent, decentralized record that no single person could alter without leaving a trace. They built on Guardtime's KSI blockchain technology, which Estonia uses for its digital government and which keeps health data uncompromised while protecting privacy.
The iAM platform stores patient records on the blockchain while giving patients control over who accesses their medical history via a mobile app. Doctors, care providers, and insurers can view diagnoses, medications, and insurance coverage when patients grant permission. Every party must pass identity verification through iAM, blocking the kind of impersonation Scott Redman carried out.
iAM consolidates medical data from every healthcare provider and organization a patient has visited. Rather than scattered records across multiple institutions, patients maintain one comprehensive medical record accessible from their phone. The app supports four languages and connects with wearables like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and health monitoring devices, giving doctors a full picture of a patient's health status. Doctors can text or call patients through the app, send appointment reminders, and flag screenings or immunizations that are due. iAM partnered with developers Moxtra and Validic to build these capabilities.
In 30 years, 3,000 physicians across five countries and 18 medical specialties have used HealthOne to manage more than 6 million patient records. Executives expect the platform to reach 30 million medical records by the end of 2019. iAM signed partnerships with UK clinical software makers DXS International and Healthcare Gateway to add new patients. Patient Advocate plans to white-label iAM's solution for corporate clients. The company scheduled a token sale for January.
The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program uses HealthOne across all 50 U.S. states and in 100 countries. iAM screened athletes at Special Olympic World Games from 2003 to 2013 in Ireland, China, Greece, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. In February 2017, the GP Lead for NHS England's Patient Online Access System observed that while others handle parts of the solution, iAM had delivered "such a comprehensive end-to-end solution" that no competitor came close.
With its portable platform established in the UK, iAM plans to expand into the United States, Europe, and Australia.
