Community owned Web 3 protocol(s) focused on Healthcare administration (i.e. claims) and data exchange (i.e. FHIR interoperability).

Introducing Rhiza Health

> *Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. - Victor Hugo*

In November of 2021, a community came together with the intent of using Web 3 technologies to buy one of the last remaining copies of the constitution. This group, the [Constitution DAO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConstitutionDAO), raised $47M in roughly a week, demonstrating how a[ Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_autonomous_organization) can quickly build a community that is a force to be reckoned with. Our broken healthcare system needs a community who focuses on improving healthcare through the application of decentralized (Web3) principles and technologies. **Do you want to be part of the community that changes healthcare?**

[Rhiza Health](https://rhiza.health/) formed to empower a community to create Web 3 protocols focused on enabling data exchange and administrative transactions. “Rhiza” pronounced (rye-za) in Greek means roots, and healthcare needs to lay down new technical “roots”. In the United States today, roughly $1 trillion of the $3.6 trillion spent each year is wasted ([source](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2752664)). Roughly half of this waste, over $500 billion annually, is associated with pricing failure, fraud, abuse or administrative complexity. Decentralized technologies are well positioned to address these problems, but a community is needed to own and drive this much needed change. There are multiple ways to support this effort if you want to be part of the community that challenges systemic issues and brings Web 3 to Healthcare.

## Problem/ Current State

The existing healthcare technology infrastructure in the United States is beyond repair and will not be fixed through incremental change. The United States is expected to spend $6.2 trillion by 2028 on healthcare expenses ([source](https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet)). Estimates indicate that simplifying the system in the U.S. could result in cost savings exceeding $350 billion annually. These inefficiencies represent at least 15% of healthcare spending ([source](https://www.chccloud.com/2020/08/25/billing-and-insurance-related-administrative-costs/)) which translates to roughly $1570 for every man, woman and child in the United States ([source](https://www.chccloud.com/2020/08/25/billing-and-insurance-related-administrative-costs/)).

Centralized (siloed) systems are a significant part of the problem but this is not simply a technology problem. Incentives of key stakeholders are also an issue as we learned by the now shuttered joint venture Haven, founded by Amazon, JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway.  “Largely, the venture failed to take off because **the U.S. healthcare system is just too complex to be disrupted”**, [experts have said](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/its-no-surprise-that-amazon-berkshire-jpm-health-venture-haven-is-disbanding-experts-213818212.html). “Haven also faced competition from entrenched players in the healthcare system, and despite their size and reach, the three companies had trouble obtaining necessary data that could help them better control costs, [the Wall Street Journal reported](https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-amazon-jpmorgan-berkshire-venture-collapsed-health-care-was-too-big-a-problem-11610039485) in January, citing people familiar with the project's budget.

Currently, there are over 1 million providers (doctors, pharmacists, etc.), 900+ health insurance companies, 300+ electronic medical record companies, and numerous other companies that have a need to exchange healthcare data. A shared infrastructure for healthcare companies to efficiently exchange information does not exist today. Data exchange occurs through inefficient intermediaries (clearing houses) or direct connections that are difficult to scale, operate and maintain. An [analysis](https://www.caqh