More than half of the world’s population is deprived of access to quality medical care. The state of affairs is especially noticeable in countries with poorly developed medical infrastructures, but developed countries are also suffering, as witnessed by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lack of a unified system of reliable and safe data exchange is the main culprit, as it often leads to errors in treatment. Doctors do not always have access to complete patient medical records due to a lack of a unified repository – a serious impediment that hinders proper diagnosis and identification of life-threatening conditions. The combined effect of a poorly developed infrastructure in both developed and developing countries is thousands of deaths due to misdiagnosis or untimely identification of conditions that could have been cured if the patients’ medical histories were properly stored, analyzed and used for preventative purposes.
In recent years, technology has been interacting with the medical industry, turning it into a high-tech hub. However, no unified solution has yet been developed that would cater to the problems associated with patient information storage. Blockchain could be the answer.
The Pains
At present, most medical data is concentrated and owned by corporations. Patients incur additional costs for accessing their own information and do not receive compensation for their contribution to the data banks that third parties utilize for their own benefit and profiteering. The medical data that a person generates from the moment birth is considered to be their intangible asset of intrinsic value, which, if handled correctly, serves as the key to longevity and attaining an improved quality of life.
DeHealth is an innovative blockchain-based medical data storage solution that relies on the use of a convenient application for remote collection, analysis, transfer and compilation of patient data. By leveraging the main advantages of blockchain technologies, the DeHealthapplication ensures the integrity and security of patient data while maintaining anonymity and giving numerous added benefits. The DeHealth application rewards users for consent in sharing their personal data in an anonymized way, making sure that they receive rewards for their contributions.
Most countries suffer from the general provision of poor-quality medical care due to the lack of effective mechanisms for the monitoring and development of the healthcare industry. Though the distribution of resources in the industry is uneven throughout the world, it is not a state of affairs that cannot be alleviated. The availability of new drugs and treatment methods in one country does not guarantee the transmission of such information to medical personnel in another country. The DeHealth application can solve that problem by making medical data accessible on a global level without borders or boundaries.
Another important issue plaguing the medical industry is that patients have no control over their personal medical data. Moreover, sensitive medical data is stored centrally, which makes it vulnerable to hacker attacks. Even the slightest changes in medical data can have a detrimental impact on not only the quality of medical care, but on treatment methods as well. DeHealth is based on blockchain technologies, which are virtually immune to penetration by unauthorized parties and have their records stored in an immutable fashion. Combined, the virtues of blockchain make it the ideal medium for medical data storage.
The DeHealth Solution
The solution to the pains of medical industries resides in the availability of an efficient and effective infrastructure that is decentralized and scalable, while ensuring security and the engagement of users on a reward basis. The unification and standardization of medical data within the DeHealth project application provides instant access to medical record information and ensures its security and integrity.
The advantages of the blockchain are evident, as it guarantees the immutability and irreversibility of the records stored within it. Engagement of users is foreseen in the DeHealth application through the use of its native token, which simplifies transactions within the framework of the platform and encourages users to share their depersonalized data for rewards.
In addition to acting as a means of payment for services, products and healthcare services offered by sellers on the internal DeHealth marketplace and accepting other cryptocurrencies as a payment method, the native DeHealth token also has other applications. Users will be able to receive rewards in DeHealth tokens for participating in the project’s loyalty program, or for filling out a health card with personal data.
The core goal of the DeHealth application is the creation of an electronic medical record that is standardized in an international format. Such a system of exchange for medical information will allow the provision of a complete and true medical history to doctors in a matter of seconds, easing diagnostics and increasing the quality of medical care, ultimately resulting in more patient lives saved.
A colorful illustration of the application of DeHealth can be found in the case of a user who was travelling and had a relapse of malaria. The user could not communicate with local doctors due to language barriers and general weakness. The treatment protocol foresaw the use of a medicine the patient was allergic to, but the doctors did not know about the condition. The patient would have died if the medication had been administered. But after reviewing the data in the patient’s DeHealth App, the doctors changed the methodology of treatment at the last moment and saved a life.
A Look Into The Future
Taking into account modern technological development, the rapid integration of digital currencies and their underlying technologies into an increasing scope of industries, it is no surprise that the medical sector is starting to rely on methods and systems of medical analysis based on the use of artificial intelligence algorithms. The DeHealth application will also be applying AI for real-time analysis of patient lifesigns to identify potential life-threatening conditions and provide advice for improving lifestyles and assigning treatment.
AI is a purely advisory technology within the scope of the DeHealth application, as it is not used for treatment, but for maintaining health conditions. The AI will only monitor the user’s condition and lifesigns, offering visits to doctors to check on any worrying metrics.
The DeHealth project already has a pilot underway in Ukraine and will be scaling to the global level. This will make DeHealth the entry point to all healthcare services, as DeHealth functionality that the Digital Health Card has already been implemented in the pilot project and foresees the assignment of appointments to doctors, as well a workplace for doctors, reception personnel and telemedicine. More functions are currently under development.
The goal is to scale the platform and expand the list of services it will be able to offer. The development team of the project is intent on adding new functionality within the framework of the application that will include a library of personal medical record, an educational portal, a real-time messenger, an extensive marketplace of services, a multi-currency payment system, and a tracker that will be able to monitor over 200 metrics.
Combined, such functionality and its ease of accessibility via a convenient marketplace will allow DeHealth to become a simple go-to solution for medical status monitoring, analysis and a host of other possibilities that engage users with rewards.
Conclusion
Data is the most valuable resource of the 21st century, and the medical industry is no different, as it relies on information for proper diagnostics and saving human lives. No other technology can provide such an unprecedented level of security and information integrity as blockchain, and DeHealth is intent on leveraging those advantages for advancing the medical industry worldwide.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
