The healthcare information and technology is highly affected by the hurdles faced by Health Information Exchange (HIE) in the form of data privacy and security giving rise to an inefficient functioning and a myriad of concerns challenging the confidence that the general public holds in the system. Protected health information (PHI) faces multiple challenges due to the absence of uniform architecture and guidelines leading to breach in personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information as well as protected data transfer among patients and healthcare personnel.
Limiting patients from owning their own health care data burdens the cooperation between healthcare providers and patients and handicaps productive population healthcare management. In spite of the challenges, a ray of hope is imparted by Healthureum in the form of blockchain which is enabling the development of an advanced information exchange framework for the healthcare industry.
Interoperability and standardization established as a result of Healthureum allow room for collaboration between clinics, hospitals, and laboratories on the lines of data sharing which would aid population health management and capital planning for smooth functioning.
Decentralized and Irrevocable: Blockchain
Dubbed as ‘the revolution’ of this century, Healthureum is set to transform lives by redefining the way we exchange and store information, blockchain is a decentralized record of peer to peer transactions made of interlinked blocks of information forming a digitized ledger.
The blockchain is not governed by any central authority, allowing each participant of the system to add, share, and view information protected by public/private key access. Storing data using bit-string cryptography shields data integrity while obeying HIPAA (the Health Insurance Probability and Accounting Act) transactions are validated through consensus. Every time a patient receives a medical service, the caregivers find and update the data adding notes of observation, lab test results, etc.
The Healthureum software consolidates the personal and medical data and stores it on a platform encrypted with code safely and facilitates interoperability among healthcare institutions to allow quick sharing.
Healthureum helps grease the wheels for population health management by simplifying data management and security at an elementary level with the following leverages:
The data is owned by the patient and cannot be tampered with. The owner can access and share the data easily.
To affirm interoperability, Healthureum helps establish and follow standardized formats and procedures allowing medical institutions to view, update, and share the data and combat fraud.
In case of an emergency, vitals like patient’s blood group, allergies, and other medical complications can be obtained instantly so that exposure to adverse treatment can be prevented on time, saving lives.
But how does blockchain ensure privacy and security? Imagine having numerous checkpoints than one single gate for data to pass through where contrasting bits of information can be adjusted with proper explanation. An example of putting secure and verified data to good use would be the formulation of insurance plan designs where the premiums can be set accordingly for healthy patients as well as for patients with complex health history while making sure that such sensitive data is not altered.
Establishing a robust mechanism based on blockchain
Healthureum runs on the Ethereum blockchain following the ERC20 standard and deploys smart contracts for transactions related to health services performed under the network of Healthureum users. The participants of the network accept only HHEM tokens for payments and rewards offered for referrals. The platform works to enhance the efficiency in six main areas, namely, data systemization, doctor consultation and referral, medical infrastructure, research programs, and philanthropic activities.
The amalgamation of blockchain and smart contract technology in critical healthcare procedures is aimed to consolidate Standardization, Scalability, and Social responsibility while curbing inflation, misuse of patient’s data and exposing a larger number of people to quality healthcare.
Public Health Surveillance and Population Health Management
Healthureum will not only improve data management for individuals, it will alter the way in which population health management and public health surveillance are performed. Researchers are analyzing how blockchain can prevent pandemics by crunching data. Lower barriers to an already complex system of data sharing between the stakeholders will help detect and control fast-spreading epidemics take preventive action, incentivize people to follow healthy behavior, and provide insight into categories in which people fall.
Another issue to tackle is the dynamic nature of patient data. People change their names, houses, and cities and change their insurance providers. It becomes next to impossible to track these developments in the life of every individual patient without missing out on data or duplicating information. Loss of data or misidentification of patients may lead to incorrect treatments causing hazardous results or at least give the patients a negative experience.
Since no country has a standardized patient recognition strategy, blockchain may be the best solution to safeguard records. Organising an almost universal database of every citizen of this world doesn’t seem impossible when we view it through the lens of Healthureum technology. The survey’s found that majority of organizations will use some form of blockchain in their database management in the next two to three years. The existing health data repositories can be supplemented with new capabilities to increase fluidity and promote a centralized chronological record owned by the patient rather than external organizations.
Clinical Trials: Introducing Blockchain Protocol
Clinical trials are observations and experiments conducted to study the behaviour of human participants on to find answers to questions about new treatments such as drugs, dietary supplements, vaccines and devices conducted after acquiring approval from national authorities.
Clinical trials usually require the consensual participation of hundreds of people to observe behavioural changes in the subjects of the research and the reports are published and quoted to promote sales of the said product. Television advertisements are often shown quoting the effective and highly positive results obtained from the use of the said product which influences consumer behaviour and helps companies achieve high sales.
The problem arising with clinical trials is that researchers and companies can manipulate the data and the results of the research to cloak the negative results or to promote false information for commercial benefit.
As revealed in a Chinese government research, more than 80 percent of data utilized in the clinical trials for pharmaceutical drugs is fabricated and fraudulent. Projecting false participation by large numbers, hiding records of potentially harmful side effects of the drug or failing to meet analysis requirements are some of the few malpractices prevalent globally. The result is deteriorated the health of users, harmful side effects faced by research participants, and even deaths in some cases.
Healthureum, with its provisions for data systemization and interoperability, is a definitive answer to cope up with the challenges of data misrepresentation, data theft, manipulation, and carelessness. Consensual data validation and time-stamped records of clinical trial participants will ensure that companies do not present rigged data and facts to achieve their targets and a proof of existence is established for the claims made in the research reports.
The reports generated by using blockchain for collecting and archiving data cannot be corrupted and can be uploaded on a dedicated online portal and lead to the strengthening of authentication to minimize or eradicate the need for a third party intervention. Smart contracts can be used to prevent false clinical trial events and prevent freezing false data.
Blockchain Evangelist: Healthureum
Healthcare is ready to welcome blockchain. According to an IBM report, close to 16% of payers and providers are willing to “adopt, implement and commercialize blockchain.”
It is often said that the best way to predict the future is to write it. With Healthureum, a large number of people have participated in writing the future as they place their trust in a new technology just the way people did with the advent of bitcoin or the e-commerce boom. Healthureum is an enterprise aiming to realize its goal of social innovation while utilizing the potential of technology and initiating a conversation around the practical ability of cryptocurrency in the area of healthcare and management.
We may not be able to name blockchain as the elixir for health information exchange and public health administration yet, but blockchain addresses some major concerns and realizes transparency. We are ready to give a shot to health-oriented data sharing framework to provide care information to all stakeholders and protect the patient’s identity while giving population health insights.
The improvement in the way population health management is conducted will lead to restoration of confidence in the healthcare framework encouraging more people to participate and contribute to research and groundwork as well as enable the government and hospitals, clinics, suppliers, and professionals to prevent and prepare to handle epidemic break out with high efficiency and save lives. Healthureum, an evangelist of blockchain technology, is not just an upgrade to the way we conduct health-related activities. It is the solution to fundamental problems faced by societies at large over the years impacting arg number of lives irrespective of financial condition, social status, or geographical presence, saving and improving lives.
