Change Healthcare to expand blockchain capabilities with PokitDok acquisition

Change Healthcare, a healthcare information technology company, has officially announced the acquisition of blockchain healthcare startup PokitDok.

CNBC had previously reported that Change Healthcare was holding late-stage talks to acquire the startup last week.

With this deal, Change Healthcare said it has acquired intellectual property (IP) and other key assets from PokitDok.

Founded in 2011, PokitDok’s API platform-as-a-service enables other companies to plug directly into over 700 trading partners to access real-time transactional data at scale. It is also developing a blockchain healthcare solution, called “DokChain.”

Change Healthcare said that PokitDok’s advanced blockchain network capabilities and API marketplace will be integrated into its Intelligent Healthcare Network.

“Change Healthcare will leverage PokitDok's blockchain use cases as well as DokChain technology, expertise, and toolsets to provide even more advanced blockchain capabilites in the Change Healthcare Intelligent Healthcare Network. Doing so will improve data integrity, auditability, and efficiency for healthcare transactions and processes,” Change Healthcare said.

In its official release, Change Healthcare said that its Intelligent Healthcare Network reaches approximately 2,200 government and commercial payer connections, 5,500 hospitals, 900,000 physicians, and 33,000 pharmacies. In the company's fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, it facilitated nearly 14 billion healthcare transactions and $1.0 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures.

"As the leader in blockchain for healthcare and with one of the most extensive open API marketplaces available, with PokitDok we are bringing together synergistic assets and technical expertise for delivering additional capabilities to our customers and accelerated value to digital health markets,” Kris Joshi, Ph.D., executive vice president and president, Network Solutions, Change Healthcare, said.