Change Healthcare in talks to buy blockchain startup PokitDok: Report

Change Healthcare, a healthcare information technology company, is close to buying PokitDok, a blockchain healthcare startup, CNBC reported.

In March 2017, healthcare giant McKesson Corporation, in collaboration with Change Healthcare Holdings (CHC), established Change Healthcare, which combines all of CHC’s business and the majority of McKesson Technology Solutions (MTS).

Sources familiar with the latest developments told CNBC that Change was in late-stage talks to buy PokitDok on Friday. The official announcement is expected to be made later this week if the deal goes through.

Change Healthcare, a member of the Hyperledger blockchain consortium, has been actively involved in the blockchain space. Earlier this year, it announced the general availability of its enterprise-scale blockchain healthcare solution.

In September, the company announced a new cloud-based network infrastructure to promote more efficient, transparent, and secure administrative and financial transactions. The network, which was deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS), allows the use of “blockchain-enabled technologies to govern transactions throughout the claims continuum.”

More recently, it collaborated with TIBCO Software to build the first smart contract system for healthcare.

Founded in 2011, PokitDok has raised over $55 million in venture capital from firms including McKesson Ventures, Cambia Health Solutions, Lemhi Ventures, Rogers Venture Partners and others.

PokitDok enables other startups to access application program interfaces (APIs) to easily plug into the computing systems of several other health companies to carry out tasks such as checking prices for a procedure or the billing status of a patient. It is also developing a blockchain-based service that aims to make health care transactions more secure and faster.

A number of other companies were also interested in the startup, including VSP Global, a vision insurance company, and MedImpact, a pharmacy benefits manager.

[Correction: Edits seventh para to remove "PokitDok is among the first to apply blockchain technology to the healthcare industry."]