Providence St. Joseph Health (St. Joseph), the not-for-profit California-based healthcare system, has acquired Lumedic, a digital health company. Lumedic applications and analytics solutions streamline revenue cycle management operations for leading health systems using blockchain technology. Blockchain is a secure and reliable method of recording, storing and sharing sensitive data. No financial terms were disclosed.
St. Joseph operates hospitals, clinics and medical centers across seven states, and is the first integrated provider-payer system to establish a scalable blockchain platform to transform claims processing and enhance interoperability between providers and payers. St. Joseph will acquire Lumedic’s assets and team to form a new company that will maintain the Lumedic brand and operating vision.
Blockchain’s role in the healthcare industry has been growing, albeit slowly. In December 2018, Change Healthcare purchased PokitDok assets and intellectual property, including the company’s blockchain platform, to build up its telemedicine offerings and services. No financial terms were disclosed in that deal.
Similarly, EMIS Group in November 2018 purchased U.K. startup Dovetail Lab for $1.9 million. Dovetail creates blockchain software that gives patients full control of their healthcare records, delivering a secure exchange of data between different health services and new digital technologies involved in patient care. EMIS hopes to utilize Dovetail Lab’s technology to reduce the burden of data management on healthcare companies.
