Thousands of pharmacies in the United States can now settle prescription drug payments through Ripple's XRP Ledger, a new system developed by Wellgistics Health in collaboration with pharmaceutical software company RxERP.
The system allows pharmacies to pay and transfer funds through the XRP Ledger, replacing traditional bank transfers for wholesale drug procurement and recording all payment information.
Brian Norton, CEO of Wellgistics, stated that independent pharmacy owners are more forward-thinking than people realize, and they have recognized the potential of blockchain. This system complies with healthcare and financial regulations, including HIPAA privacy requirements and anti-money laundering (AML) laws.
The application of blockchain in the healthcare industry.
Although blockchain is not a hot topic in healthcare, the industry has gradually entered a practical phase since 2023. According to Grand View Research, the blockchain market size in healthcare was $7.04 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $214.86 billion by 2030.
Despite the expanding applications of blockchain, its use in healthcare still faces challenges, such as the German blockchain healthcare project being hindered by data privacy regulations (GDPR).
The interest of healthcare finance companies in cryptocurrency is rising.
Recently, several healthcare companies have incorporated digital assets into their corporate treasury, showing the industry's interest in cryptocurrency. Prenetics Global went public on NASDAQ and purchased Bitcoin through Kraken, while Basel Medical plans to create a Bitcoin reserve.
