If you have heard of blockchain, it is most likely because you have heard of Bitcoin, which was one of the first blockchain applications. Bitcoin has become the leading cryptocurrency, but uses have emerged from this revolutionary technology, especially when it comes to blockchain in healthcare.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain is most often referred to as a "shared ledger." It gets this name from the fact that it tracks transactions, but the ledger is shared by a number of organizations or people, meaning that there are multiple, identical copies of each ledger.
Blockchain technology stores information in blocks, and the blocks are linked to each other like a chain. Each transaction must be signed digitally, and the data pieces are verified in multiple places before the transaction is encrypted and placed into a block. The new block is linked to a previous block and to all of that block's cryptographic information. Transactions can be seen by anyone who has access to particular blocks, and in real time. Transactions are very difficult to change or erase since they are linked.
Blockchain in Healthcare Applications
The healthcare industry is exploring ways to incorporate blockchain technology into what is often seen as an old and outdated system. According to Investopedia, John Halamka, the chief information officer for Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, believes that blockchain has the potential to consolidate medical records and patient data. Even today, in our highly digital world, a single patient's health records are located in different facilities (sometimes in storage), and these may be scattered across the country. The application of blockchain in healthcare might be able to create a complete record that follows the patient throughout her life, and that can be updated within seconds.
For example, a private practice gynecologist who sees someone in a stand-alone practice but performs surgery in another location could have access to all of the patient's data — medical records, ultrasound images and test results — through a blockchain application. The blockchain could be updated from the private practice or the surgical facility, and that information would be immediately available to anyone else who has access. The physician could share the record with other providers if needed, or even the patient herself. The patient would have the ability to give and revoke access to her records, even sharing them with research enterprises.
In a paper published through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the authors explained that tools like blockchain have the potential to revolutionize healthcare. Not only could the application of blockchain in healthcare help to harness, index and house the massive amounts of data being created, but it could also help patients gain access to their entire health history.
Drawbacks to Blockchain in Healthcare
As the aforementioned paper points out, patient privacy is a critical concern whenever patient data is shared. Health applications utilizing this technology would need to specifically address this issue, and to have multiple levels of access rather than an "all or nothing" approach. Additionally, creating entire health histories of data would require massive bandwidth and storage capacity, which might be possible by incorporating data repositories that are only indexed and accessible through a blockchain application.
In a 2018 article in Forbes, Tory Cenaj, the founder of a new journal entitled Blockchain in Healthcare Today, stresses the need for changes to U.S. policies and regulations to facilitate the transformative use of blockchain applications in healthcare. Cenaj estimates that these policy shifts would realistically take 10 or more years. Halamka, who serves as the journal's editor-in-chief, expects blockchain to be adopted more rapidly, as there are already applications for healthcare in production, and these will multiply quickly as the industry and government authorities realize the untapped potential of this technology.
Consider recent technological advances such as Tricefy, a cloud-based solution for ultrasound systems that allows physicians to quickly and securely share images with patients and colleagues. This new technology signifies a growing demand for streamlined data sharing, as well as for easier access to information for all members of a care team.
The timeline is yet to be determined, but blockchain technology will most likely affect healthcare data storage in more and more ways. Make sure your medical practice is staying up to date on the latest developments.
