Medical blockchain is expected to be the first to be implemented. Communications giant du and medical companies will move patient records to the blockchain

Electronic health record (EHR) storage in the UAE may soon be revolutionised as patient medical records are set to be stored on a blockchain.

According to local media ITP, UAE communications giant du has established a partnership with large private medical service provider NMC Healthcare, which will become the first project in the UAE to introduce blockchain into patient information management.

Some of the core features of blockchain technology, including data integrity and immutability, trustworthiness and security, have long been touted as the next big disruptor in the healthcare industry, and other blockchain-based medical networks are beginning to take shape.

Blockchain enables instant access to patient records

BR Shetty, Founder and CEO of NMC Healthcare, said:

“We believe this project will ultimately improve our patient data management process in a more efficient manner, reduce administrative costs, and result in precise information that will lead to better diagnosis and treatment for patients.”

Carlos Domingo, chief innovation officer at telecom giant du, said the vast majority of patient records are still on paper, including blood test reports and X-rays. The lack of shared access to patient records can cause delays in providing medical services to patients. The executive said a distributed ledger platform can achieve zero errors.

Domingo added:

“By digitizing all medical records and putting them on the blockchain, this information can be shared and distributed to all hospitals. We are looking into using blockchain technology to fully digitize the healthcare system, ensuring data integrity and zero errors as well as end-to-end accountability for patient records.”

The UAE is quickly becoming a hotbed for blockchain development and implementation across multiple industries. The gemstone industry is already looking to blockchain solutions to curb the trade in conflict diamonds, while the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange is also involved in developing a blockchain voting system.

One of the most notable examples is that the Dubai government has developed a plan to move all documents to the blockchain by 2020.

Guardtime provides blockchain technology for the project

The blockchain technology used in du’s medical project with NMC Healthcare will be provided by Guardtime, a research group that brings together scientists, network architects, software developers and security professionals who are increasingly important in the blockchain industry.

One of Guardtime’s most notable achievements is that they are developing a blockchain-based cybersecurity solution for critical UK infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, power grids, and flood defense systems.

The blockchain security provider has now received a $1.8 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a blockchain-based surveillance system.

Blockchain technology is highly anticipated, and 2017 is considered a key year for the development of blockchain. Many industry experts believe that this technology may be deployed in practice this year. Blockchain technology is considered to have great development potential in cross-border payments, securities, the Internet of Things, healthcare, energy, supply chain, law, insurance and other industries. We will wait and see which industry will be the first to be implemented in blockchain technology.