Blockchain changes the medical data processing model and creates a patient-centered medical network

Blockchain, an emerging technology that is closely linked to Bitcoin, is playing an increasingly important role in the financial industry.

Now, people are gradually realizing that blockchain technology can help find answers to many thorny medical problems, such as better tracking electronic medical records and improving the security of sharing electronic medical records.

Other capabilities of this technology include automating workflows and providing better identification systems for patients and providers.

Discussions about using blockchain technology in healthcare are still in the early stages. Gem, a company that provides an operating system that connects users to blockchain networks, has begun creating a healthcare network called Gem Health. In recent weeks, Gem has partnered with Philips and its Blockchain Lab, which was established this year after six months of exploratory research into blockchain technology.

Micah Winkelspecht, Founder and CEO of Gem, said:

The Gem Health Network aims to raise relevant discussions and create a collaborative network that can safely conduct experiments and create pilot projects. We have begun to try to change people's perceptions of the use of blockchain technology in medical technology. Most of the discussions about blockchain have been in financial transactions.

Winkelspecht also said:

“The reality is that only a small number of companies are experimenting with blockchain technology in healthcare right now; they’re just experimenting internally. Someone needs to organize and manage the discussion of blockchain technology in healthcare.”

Blockchain is a distributed, secure transaction ledger that uses an open source technology to maintain data. Records on a blockchain can be shared and distributed to the computers of many entities without them having to know each other.

As opposed to using a central authority to store data in a centralized environment, under a blockchain network, the entire network of connected computers is responsible for the integrity of the data.

Blockchain uses a simple method to store highly sensitive information. This distributed database maintains a list of data records, but this list is not static and more records can be added. The database is made up of blocks of data structures, which hold data. The information in these databases is time-stamped and verified. Each block contains a 'hash' identifier from the previous record block, and these hashes help connect the blocks to form a virtual chain.

Transactions can be stored on the blockchain; these transactions are created by the participants who use the system.

In the healthcare field, Winkelspecht said, blockchain technology will provide the flexibility to merge information about patients receiving treatment from different providers, making it virtually possible to connect the information to one network, study the shared information and collaborate with peers without exposing the information to thieves or counterfeiters. This is because blockchain uses a protocol that can generate a log of network activity that is both secure and can be transmitted across a distributed network.

Blockchain allows providers to research patient data, and interactions between providers will be securely recorded on the blockchain, paired with a log of network activity that provides an indisputable record of who posted a record and evidence of when a record was changed.

Winkelspecht said blockchain’s properties make it suitable for processing clinical data, processing claims, handling universal identity information, managing genomic data and other data challenges that are particularly difficult in the healthcare industry.

He said:

“There is a huge need to create connected services across the healthcare continuum. Healthcare now needs the ability to connect the entire industry and greater control over access.”

Winkelspecht said:

“The way the healthcare industry handles data is changing. Currently, the healthcare industry model is built around the centralization of data that is not controlled by the patient. There is a huge demand for increased patient control of their data, or at least greater transparency. Blockchain can embody a powerful working model to provide a patient-centric approach.”

However, Jody Ranck, CEO of Krysalis Labs, said there are still some challenges in blockchain adoption.

“Blockchain is not going to solve the interoperability problem overnight. Some people think blockchain can help patients gain more control over their medical data and give them more control over who can share their data.”

Rank listed various potential applications of blockchain technology in the healthcare industry:

1. Medical banking between non-intermediaries

2. Distributed Electronic Health Records (EHR)

3. Inventory Management

4. Develop a research 'commons' and profitable model for data sharing

5. Identity verification for insurance purposes

6. An open services 'marketplace' providing transparency into pricing

Rank said:

“I still think we have a long way to go to fully understand blockchain technology, and the infrastructure is developing. It’s already been absorbed by the banking industry, which is a good analogy for the healthcare industry. I think the infrastructure we have now (data sharing) creates friction. Blockchain can’t solve all problems, but blockchain can still provide some strategies. Blockchain can really change the model of data sharing in the healthcare industry in the next five to 10 years.”