Chinese Hospital Now Uses Blockchain-Enabled Invoices
- the Guangzhou Huadu District People’s Hospital successful launched a system which issues electronic invoices for both outpatients and hospitalization.
- The new system also protects the hospital against fraudulent invoices, as it now makes them far harder to imitate.
Old Chinese tower in the mountain. Freepik
China is once again at the forefront of blockchain technology adoption, this time with a hospital launching an electronic billing service that uses the technology, local media outlet Sina reported on 24 October.
According to the report, the Guangzhou Huadu District People’s Hospital successful launched a system which issues electronic invoices for both outpatients and hospitalization.
The hospital received technical support from Kingdee Medical and Guangdong Ruilian Technology, which were responsible for the flow of electronic settlement information.
The Hospital first used the new blockchain system for outpatients medical bills on 29 September, and later extended the process to facilitate hospitalization as well, which meant that the system covered the entire business of the medical facility.
The hospital has become the first medical institution in the country to use the blockchain-based system.
Blockchain technology not only helps the hospital with improving its sustainability, but also allows for more efficient billing and immutable, auditable storage of medical information.
The new system also protects the hospital against fraudulent invoices, as it now makes them far harder to imitate.
A patient of the hospital reportedly said:
“I don’t have to worry about losing the invoice in the future, and I don’t use it to go back and forth for so long. Now I can use my mobile phone to scan a QR code to open an electronic invoice, and the reimbursement is more convenient.”
The country’s president, Xi Jingping, has also recently said that China needs to accelerate its adoption of blockchain technology, and that it has a wide range of applications.
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Office building of the People’s Bank of China. Flickr
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