Welcome and Opening Statements

• A reminder to all HC-SIG members that this meeting is being recorded
  • Videoconferencing/teleconferencing connect details are available here
    
    

• Reading of the Linux Foundation Antitrust Policy

  • Hyperledger Antitrust Slide

Introductions

• If you’re new to the group, please…

  • Introduce yourself

  • Tell us where you're geographically located

  • Share with us your interests in healthcare in general, and blockchain technologies in specific

  • Consider posting your contact information in our HC-SIG Membership Directory
  • Questions? Review our HC-SIG FAQ for answers

Community Announcements

• Do you have any announcements that you'd like to share with the HC-SIG community?

  • Feel free to make an announcement here, on our Rocket.Chat channel, or via our email listserv

HC-SIG Subgroup Updates

• Patient/Member Subgroup (Deniz Coskun, Lead)

• Payer Subgroup (Raveesh Dewan, Lead)

• Healthcare Interoperability Subgroup (Steven Elliott, Lead)

HC-SIG Ad Hoc Team Updates

• Wiki Redesign Team (Rich Bloch, Lead)

  • Work continues on our SIG site design

  • Discussion: are you a Confluence expert... interested in joining this team?
    
    

• HC-SIG Use Case Development Team (Erika Beerbower, Lead)

Old Business

• Healthcare Funding Opportunities
  

  • Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

    • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
    • Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
  • National Institute of Health (NIH)
    • SBIRs/STTRs and grant funding
  • UNICEF Innovation Fund
    • Designed for small business start-ups
    • UNICEF Blockchain Programme details

• 2020 HC-SIG Membership Survey Results
  • Majority of respondents are in healthcare, and work in software development/engineering
  • Participating in the HC-SIG to learn more about blockchain technologies in healthcare, and also business networking
  • Most familiar with blockchain technologies for 3-5 years
  • Half of respondents from North America, followed by Europe and then Asia
  • Primarily interested in Fabric, Indy, and Sawtooth development
  • Interoperability, clinical data exchange, and the management of personally identifiable information (PII) the primary focus of interest
    • Through the implementation of self-sovereign identity (SSI) and smart contracts
  • Focus of effort on the provider, patient, and then government/regulatory spaces
  • About 3/4 of respondents would be okay if future presentation topics were not directly related to Hyperledger (more interested in the broader use of any blockchain technologies in healthcare)
    • Such topics to include:
      • Smart contract tech, e.g., DAML and PACT, and public blockchain technologies
      • BurstIQ, Remedichain, IBM Blockchain platforms
  • Miscellaneous comments:
    • Congratulations and keep going with this efforts!!!
    • This is a great community and I have learned more since I found this group than my own efforts surfing into the www, congratulations and hope some day I’ll have the same knowledge and experience like the rest of the participants here to contribute more at the discussions
    • Great job... Thanks!
    • Great work!
    • Richard Bloch is the best facilitator that you could ever hope to have. He is absolutely outstanding in his efforts to include people in discussions and managing discussions in the best interests of time and respect. He's amazing.
      • Rich responds: "aw... shucks!"
  Discussion topic: COVID-19
  • How can blockchain technologies have a positive impact on the identification and prevention of this pandemic?
    • Recent US government spending package (proposed as of this writing) for COVID-19 to include the following:
      • $500 million for an emergency telehealth waiver. The bill would waive certain Medicare restrictions for telehealth, including that a Medicare beneficiary can use telehealth services even if they aren’t in a rural community. “This provision would also allow beneficiaries to receive care from physicians and other practitioners in their homes,” a summary of the package said
      • $2.2 billion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help state and local health agencies. The funding would include a provision to reimburse state or local costs for corona virus response and preparedness activities from Jan. 20 to the end of this supplemental
      • Nearly $1 billion to buy drugs and medical supplies. This procurement will include $500 million for drugs, masks and personal protective equipment that can be distributed to state and local health agencies in areas that are in shortage. It also includes funding for increasing the supply of biocontainment beds, which are secured areas used for patients with highly contagious diseases
      • More than $3 billion to support the research and development of vaccines, diagnostics and other treatments for the corona virus. Any vaccine or diagnostic developed via taxpayer funds must also “be available for purchase by the federal government at a fair and reasonable price,” the summary said. The bill also enables the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure any vaccine or diagnostic can be affordable in the commercial market, but doesn’t elaborate on how.

New Business

• Open Discussions (Rich)

  • Discussion: your thoughts on changes you'd like to see with the HC-SIG?

Next Meeting

• Scheduled for Friday, 2020.05.01, 0700 Pacific Time

• Discussion: topics to add to agenda?