HHS CIO has bigger plans for blockchain than buying medical gloves in bulk

At HHS, CIO Jose Arrieta is using the agency's blockchain, HHS Accelerate, to identify bulk purchases of copy paper and medical gloves to make sure it is paying the lowest price. Now, Mr. Arrieta wants to expand the HHS Accelerate's capabilities, according to the Federal News Network.

Mr. Arrieta wants to partner with the Defense Information Systems Agency to pilot a program that connects wearable devices or mobile phones to the blockchain. HHS Accelerate would be used to better track behavioral information, reports Federal News Network.

"[The Defense Information Systems Agency] have the wireless device, they have the behavioral capability to actually determine identity with a high-level confidence score. Now, they need a network of nodes to test that," Mr. Arrieta said.

The CIO plans to meet with DISA officials later in June.

If the pilot program takes off, it could in the future help first responders in the field be able to more easily connect to a secure network without the need for multifactor authentication, Federal News Network reports.

HHS is also in talks with the U.S. Army and Air Force to invest in HHS Accelerate. The two military branches are interested in blockchain's data sharing capabilities, Mr. Arrieta said.

"For those of you that don't think blockchain can work, it's actually working. It's actually working at scale, simple as that," Mr. Arrieta told Federal News Network.

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