The Case for Establishing a Blockchain Research and Development Program at an Academic Medical Center

We identified the key barriers and opportunities for developing a sustainable research lab that generates research, education, and application of blockchain in healthcare at an academic medical institution and test those strategies in a real-world scenario.

Authors:

• Muhammad Usman | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
• Verena Kallhoff | Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
• Anjum Khurshid | Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

Objective: To develop a research and development program to study factors that will support research, education and innovation using blockchain technology for health in an effective and sustainable manner. We proposed to conduct qualitative research to generate insights for developing a market strategy to build a research lab for the promotion of blockchain technologies in health in academic environments. The team aimed to identify the key barriers and opportunities for developing a sustainable research lab that generates research, education, and application of blockchain in healthcare at an academic medical institution and test those strategies in a real-world scenario.

Methods: The research team identified potential customers and stakeholders through interviews and snowball sampling. The team conducted semi-structured interviews with 4 faculty researchers, 10 industry leaders, and 6 students from a variety of disciplines and organizations. The findings of these research activities informed our understanding of the needs of stratified customers and helped identify key assets and activities the lab will have to offer to meet those needs.

Results: head here for more! https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v4.161

Originally published at https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com.