Change Healthcare announced that it has acquired intellectual property (IP) and other key assets from PokitDok, Inc., a blockchain platform-as-a-service company for healthcare. The integration of key PokitDok APIs into the network will add new capabilities for digital health, telemedicine, and other new, disruptive care models that support value-based, patient-centric healthcare.
Founded in 2011, PokitDok’s platform-as-a-service makes it faster and easier for healthcare organizations to bring new applications and services to market. Its APIs facilitate eligibility checks, claims submissions, appointment scheduling, payment optimization, patient identity management, pharmacy benefits, and other business processes. Hospital systems, digital health startups, systems integrators, and telehealth companies use PokitDok’s development platform to improve workflows, cut costs, and discover business patterns with big data.
Change Healthcare will Leverage PokitDok’s Blockchain Platform
In 2017, Change Healthcare became the first healthcare IT company to deploy blockchain at enterprise scale, addressing the administrative claims management transparency process. More recently, the company announced an agreement with TIBCO to develop the first blockchain “smart contract” system for healthcare. Now, Change Healthcare will leverage PokitDok’s blockchain use cases as well as DokChain™ technology, expertise, and toolsets to provide even more advanced blockchain capabilities in the Change Healthcare Intelligent Healthcare Network. Doing so will improve data integrity, auditability, and efficiency for healthcare transactions and processes.
“This acquisition is about practical innovation to create a more connected, transparent and efficient healthcare system where patients control their own information,” said Kris Joshi, Ph.D., executive vice president and president, Network Solutions, Change Healthcare. “As the leader in blockchain for healthcare and with one of the most extensive open API marketplaces available, with PokitDok we are bringing together synergistic assets and technical expertise for delivering additional capabilities to our customers and accelerated value to digital health markets.”
The Change Healthcare Intelligent Healthcare Network currently reaches approximately 2,200 government and commercial payer connections, 5,500 hospitals, 900,000 physicians, and 33,000 pharmacies. In the company’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, it facilitated nearly 14 billion healthcare transactions and $1.0 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures.
“PokitDok’s capabilities accelerate the launch of Change Healthcare’s API and Services Marketplace, which is designed to address the needs of organizations ranging from innovative healthcare startups to established healthcare entities and large-scale IT companies,” said Gautam Shah, vice president, APIs and marketplaces, Change Healthcare. “The combination of assets, technical talent, and market presence will enable our customers and partners with the tools, community, and expertise to leverage data and technology to create innovative solutions for all parts of the healthcare ecosystem: payers, providers, and consumers.”
Financial terms of the asset acquisition were not disclosed. PokitDok has raised more than $55M in funding to date.
