Blockchain-based healthcare startup Akiri Switch receives $10 million in funding

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The platform takes up the challenge of secure real-time distribution of sensitive data.

Blockchain technology is opening up enormous possibilities in different industries. For the healthcare industry, this could mean better supply chain management, as well as faster, more efficient data distribution.

IBM pinpoints this particular benefit in their blog.

“Better data sharing between healthcare providers means a higher probability of accurate diagnoses, more effective treatments, and the overall increased ability of healthcare organizations to deliver cost-effective care. Blockchain technology can allow various stakeholders in the healthcare value-chain to share access to their networks without compromising data security and integrity, by allowing them to track data provenance as well as any changes made.”

While the potential advantages are very attractive, development has been slow, adoption even slower—and reasonably so. The healthcare industry holds some of the most valuable yet severely sensitive data in the sphere.

Taking up this challenge is healthcare startup Akiri, which has received $10 million in their series A seed round.

“One of the biggest challenges in healthcare today is securing, sharing, and using trusted health data in real time. We created Akiri to transform how everyone does it. We’re starting with a secure, private network-as-a-service. It’s called Akiri Switch. To create a 360-degree network of trust, only subscribers to the network can share health data in the network itself.”

“Health data is stuck in silos, costing the U.S. $200 billion a year in lost productivity. Outcomes are lower. Costs are higher. Opportunities are missed. Patients, physicians, providers, payers, and pharma all suffer.”

The startup is tapping on the power of blockchain technology to enable secure real-time data sharing within the healthcare industry. While we have yet to see whether the company will live up to its pledges, things are looking promising as early as now. The startup is backed by the American Medical Association (AMA), instantly raking in its 240,000 members. The platform would supposedly facilitate integration with other applications.

“Akiri is distinctively positioned to support security, identification, authentication, compliance, analytics, and applications,” he said in a press release. “Akiri Switch verifies healthcare data sources and destinations, allowing trusted applications to be developed and validated for patients, physicians, providers, pharma, payers, and other healthcare enterprises.”