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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id>authorea</journal-id>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Authorea</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22541/au.151060471.10755953</article-id>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>A Case Study in Blockchain Healthcare Innovation</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name>
            <surname>Heston</surname>
            <given-names>Thomas F</given-names>
          </name>
          <address>
            <institution>Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, Washington USA</institution>
          </address>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <pub-date date-type="preprint" publication-format="electronic">
        <day>13</day>
        <month>11</month>
        <year>2017</year>
      </pub-date>
      <self-uri xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.22541/au.151060471.10755953">This preprint is available at https://doi.org/10.22541/au.151060471.10755953</self-uri>
      <abstract abstract-type="abstract">
        <p>Healthcare complexity and costs can be decreased through the application
of blockchain technology to medical records and insurance companies.
Estonia has taken a leadership role in blockchain based services both in
the commercial sector and in government. The Estonian government’s
innovation strategy was to create GovTech partnerships to implement
blockchain based technologies throughout the country, and become a
global leader in the technology. Starting in 2011, just 3 years after
Satoshi Nakamoto published the first description of distributed ledgers
and blockchain technology, the Estonian Government started partnering
with the private technology startup company Guardtime to use blockchains
to secure public and internal records. Then in 2016, Estonia once again
reinforced its global leadership in blockchain technology when it
announced it would use blockchain technology to secure the health
records of over a million citizens. Estonia’s systematic method of
applying blockchain technologies through GovTech partnerships
demnostrates how innovation is a process. Estonia also identified early
the value of the blockchain as a disruptive platform innovation. The
application of blockchain technology to healthcare is a radical
innovation given that nearly all previous applications have been in the
financial and legal sectors.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group kwd-group-type="author-created">
        <kwd>blockchain</kwd>
        <kwd>electronic medical records</kwd>
        <kwd>healthcare</kwd>
        <kwd>innovation</kwd>
        <kwd>medical records</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
