Blockchain technology is often associated with the cryptocurrency universe. Those ties are real and extensive. But experienced investors know there’s much more to blockchain applications.
The rub is that many individual blockchain stocks and the ETFs addressing the industry don’t have the capability to reflect the technology’s growing opportunity set. And that includes — in a significant way — healthcare. The Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) is an example of a blockchain ETF with flexibility.
BLOK turned six years old in January. It is actively managed, whereas many competing strategies are index-based funds. So while BLOK and its peers are crypto-correlated today, the Amplify ETF can adjust more rapidly than rivals to capitalize on new blockchain opportunities, including healthcare.
Healthcare Could Boost Blockchain
Many healthcare providers and hospitals are already integrating blockchain into everyday use. But there’s massive room for long-term growth on this front. That could be supportive of BLOK beyond crypto. And it could enhance the allure of the ETF from a long-term perspective.
“Blockchain technology has the potential to transform health care, placing the patient at the center of the health care ecosystem and increasing the security, privacy, and interoperability of health data,” noted Deloitte. “This technology could provide a new model for health information exchanges (HIE) by making electronic medical records more efficient, disintermediated, and secure.”
The evolving intersection of blockchain and healthcare could be a longer-ranging catalyst for BLOK for other reasons. Blockchain has the ability to reduce costs and waste. It can also enhance efficiencies in the healthcare space.
“Capitalizing on this technology has the potential to connect fragmented systems to generate insights and to better assess the value of care. In the long term, a nationwide blockchain network for electronic medical records may improve efficiencies and support better health outcomes for patients,” added Deloitte.
There are already signs the healthcare industry and regulators are embracing a broader move to blockchain. For example, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently outlined some crucial policy needs. Those include verifiable identity, enhanced network security, and robust access to electronic health records. All of these can be improved by blockchain technology. Ongoing adoption of blockchain regarding those aspects could benefit BLOK.
“Blockchain technology presents numerous opportunities for [health care. However,]it is not fully mature today. [Nor is it] a panacea that can be immediately applied. Several technical, organizational, and behavioral economics challenges must be addressed before a health care blockchain can be adopted by organizations nationwide,” concluded Deloitte.
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