Healthcare: Blockchain for Patient Medical Records
Electronic health records (EHR) are replacing older paper forms as the de facto standard for entering data related to an individual patient- medical test results, patient history, and prescriptions. EHR systems have given doctors a faster and more comprehensive path for retrieving patient data, reducing errors and improving clinical outcomes.
In 2004, President Bush set a goal for the majority of Americans to have computerized health records by 2014. According to the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy July 2017, Electronic health records have been implemented partially or completely in most hospitals (99.1%). While almost all hospitals have implemented EHR, the extent to which hospitals use the technology varies widely. Approximately 43 percent of hospitals in 2016 fully used EHR systems in place of paper records, while nearly 56 percent of hospitals engaged in partial EHR use with some daily clinical processes resorting to paper.
However, these systems still largely lack interoperability- which means that a doctor in a specific hospital cannot easily access the records that are based in another office. Time consuming protocols are often needed to access a record from another facility, potentially spelling disaster in a medical emergency. The above scenario is exacerbated if the patient belongs to a private clinic that “owns” the patient records.
Blockchain: Healthcare Records
Enter de-centralized blockchain technology. What is blockchain? Simply put, a “block” is a “log of data” secured with cryptography. The first block or the genesis block is linked to all other subsequent blocks to form a “chain”. In the case of patient records, the data in the chain relates to patient healthcare information.
The blocks of health information are sensitive, hence the need for permission-based records, which means that they can be viewed only by those who are granted access. The patient and his or her community of medical professionals are the “permissioned” individuals and can access a patient’s health history. Health information on the blockchain can be shared quickly and securely between doctors’ offices, hospitals, outpatient centers and pharmacies, adapting to emergency scenarios in which medical staff can immediately access vital information about a patient’s history, blood type, drug allergies and past medications.
Healthcare Rallies for Blockchain, a study from IBM, found that 16% of surveyed healthcare executives had solid plans to implement a commercial blockchain solution this year, while 56% expected to by 2020.
Let’s look at an application of blockchain technology coupled with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the intelligent diagnosis of fetal congenital heart disease.
Fetal congenital heart disease is the most serious birth disease in newborns, with an incidence rate of 0.4%-1.0% in China. Early diagnosis with screening for fetal congenital heart disease can prevent and treat birth defects in the newborn.
Blockchain plus AI technology enables doctors to obtain data from multiple sources, share their clinical experience, and track prenatal and postnatal cardiac function. The blockchain data security system characteristics are: “can use but invisible to non-participants” and “burn after use”. All in all, a great use case for blockchain technology.
As the technology matures, blockchain will have an enormous impact on the speed, accessibility, trust, and security of an individual’s health records. The world is waiting.
