Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance, a firm based in Hong Kong, has revealed that it is the first insurance company in the special administrative region to adopt blockchain technology in its business operations, particularly to expedite the process of medical insurance claims and prevent fraud. The firm also said blockchain solutions will contribute to lowering the overall cost of doing business, according to the South China Morning Post.

Blockchain can provide a better way to cross-check information relating to insurance claims, as the decentralized ledger technology — which is immutable and more transparent than a centralized database — can be used to verify and record transactions.

Patrick Wan, Managing Director of Blue Cross, said information and transactions can be verified in real-time, thus significantly reducing the risk of fraud, adding that the technology also allows medical insurance claims to be processed much faster than with other more traditional methods.

Wan stated that blockchain technology will let Blue Cross better serve its 200,000-plus customers while lowering operating costs, as blockchain “eliminates the need to reconcile medical claim data across various parties.”

Blue Cross’ network is operated on Hyperledger, the same technology that is used to run Hong Kong’s blockchain trade finance network, eTrade Connect. The network, launched in 2018, is backed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and 12 banks.

Meanwhile, William Yeung, co-founder of MediConCen — a Hong Kong startup for blockchain-enabled medical applications — affirmed that the technology can greatly benefit insurers and their customers. He believes the efficiency and convenience of blockchain can attract more doctors and Chinese medicine practitioners to join Blue Cross’s physician network.

Source: www.scmp.com