Leading American Drug Firms Incorporate Blockchain to Manage Chargebacks

By Prashant Jha

Four major American pharmaceuticals firms are coming together to build a blockchain based network for the industry, which would be used to manage chargebacks. The four major firms include McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Premier Inc. and Pfizer Inc. who have joined hands with MediLedger Project Contracting and Chargebacks working group.

MediLedger is a SanFransciso based blockchain company which leverages DLT to build a common network for the pharmaceutical firms in order to make the system more efficient and cost lesser by sharing important data on the network. The network would automate the contract reconciliation and chargeback processes.

Chargebacks are basically canceled or disputed transactions which are quite a common occurrence in the medical supply chain all across the globe including the United Staes. The supply chain is run by various private as well as the government but due to independent centralized syatems, the process of chargeback claims become complex and time-consuming.

As per the release, the blockchain powered network has already established a protocol for saleable return drug verification which is compliant with current 2019 Drug Supply Chain Security Act regulations. Those consumers who are on the network, their data will only be shared with the trading partners they specifically choose, since the DLT based system does not avail all the data centrally to every firm.

Maurizio Greco, CTO of Chronicled commented on the novel approach and said,

“we can design [the blockchain system] so only the license holder can create records for its own products, for example. This may seem like a simple illustration, but it is revolutionary”

Blockchain is Revolutionizing the Healthcare Sector

Blockchain use cases in the healthcare sector are on the rise and many novel approaches similar to the current one have been initiated to put power and control of consumer data in their hand.

HMS Technologies Inc. (HMS) is one of the leading healthcare information technology providers in the US has integrated Solve Care’s blockchain platform into their federal health information technology initiatives. The move is set to help the government in saving costs and increasing interoperability and accessibility.