According to a CoinDesk Korea report on Wednesday, Yoon Shim, a vice president of Samsung SDS, said at the Blockchain Seoul 2019 event that the firm has been piloting the system since August this year. Samsung SDS is 22.6 percent owned by Samsung Electronics and 17.1 percent owned by Samsung C&T.
Samsung SDS, an IT solution developer partially owned by the South Korean tech conglomerate, is expecting to roll out a blockchain-based medical claims processing system this month.
Yoon added that medical institutions and insurers have participated in the pilot to validate the effectiveness and the system will go live soon this month, based on another local news report.
The network being rolled out aims to simplify a now complex process, in which a patient gets a receipt for services rendered and submits the documents to the insurance company, which must then verify their accuracy before claims are paid.
The company says that even though most Koreans are well insured and should have no out-of-pocket expenses, they will often not file claims because of the complicated procedures.
In the new “blockchain healthcare network”, hospitals, pharmacies, insurers and other companies in the sector will be linked. When the system is operational, users will receive a message on the KakaoTalk messenger after treatment. They can then press a receipt button and an insurance claim button, after which their information is sent to the insurer.
Blockchain technology is used for the sharing of personal medical information. Samsung SDS believes that the network will reduce the workload at medical institutions, shorten wait times for claims processing and reduce the cost of processing medical claims by up to 70 percent.
In June, Samsung SDS said that it had already signed a number of major hospitals to the blockchain healthcare network. The list includes Samsung Hospital, Severance Hospital and Korea University Medical Center, while discussions were ongoing with other institutions. The company said at the time that the new system would be rolled out in August 2019.
The network is being built on Nexledger, an enterprise blockchain platform originally developed in 2017. Samsung SDS says Nexledger is being used in the implementation of 110 blockchain projects and holds 51 patents.
Samsung to Target EU Payments Sector With Blockchain-Based Solution for Banks
Samsung’s enterprise technology arm is building a blockchain-based settlements solution for merchants and banks.The Korea Herald reported Wednesday that Samsung SDS had signed a memorandum of understanding with Israeli fintech solutions provider Credorax to develop the solution, aimed to create efficiencies by automatically logging payments data on bank records and ledgers.
The product, which hasn’t yet been named publicly, will work on Samsung SDS’ Nexledger Universal platform, the proprietary blockchain first unveiled in 2017. Work processes will be automated using AI technology from Brity Works, another Samsung SDS company.
Hong Won-pyo, Samsung SDS president and chief executive, said to local media the agreement with Credorax, which has already provided solutions to companies across the European Union and broader economic area, will enable the Korean tech company to gain a foothold in the region’s payments sector.
«Together with Credorax, which specializes in payments solutions, Samsung SDS will try to expand its business in the European sectors that seek digital transformation,» he said.
Credorax did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Samsung SDS changed its articles of association in February to include e-finance as one of its main business areas. SDS’ value grew by $3.7 billion in 2019, an above-average growth rate for the broader tech sector. Speaking to the Korea Herald, Chief Strategy Officer Im Soo-hyun attributed the company’s good fortunes to successful inroads into AI and blockchain technology.
In November 2019, Samsung SDS announced it would enhance privacy on Nexledger through a partnership with Israeli-based QEDIT to integrate zero-knowledge proofs into the platform. A medical-claims processing system built on top of the Nexledger platform, launched at the end of last year.
