Charles Worthington, the chief technology officer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has said that he is interested in how Blockchain can be used to improve the efficiency of the department, though it is not yet clear exactly how the VA would use the technology.

Speaking on Tuesday 16th January, Worthington said that his main focus was on identifying technology which would help the VA to overcome the problems it faced: \"I would like to look to industry to identify proof of use to us… I feel that we will be coming to the industry with our problems, and if the industry thinks that Blockchain technology could be a solution for our issues, it will bring it to us.\"

The primary issues faced by the VA are problems with data systems which make the sharing of health records between different departments or organisations difficult. Several attempts to solve this problem have stumbled and failed, and Worthington believes Blockchain would have to overcome these challenges.

In 2016, a bill was introduced to the House which would have compelled the VA to use a blockchain ledger to manage data related to patient appointments. However, although a committee approved the bill, it has yet to be put to the vote.