From providing secure medical records to protecting the vulnerable medical supply chain, blockchain companies are in a unique position to upgrade the entire landscape of the health tech industry.
As innovators of the world’s most secure form of data distribution, blockchain companies are already surpassing outdated forms of recording information in the health tech industry.
With blockchain technology, each “block” of data contains a unique digital fingerprint that is time-stamped whenever alterations are made. Together, the blocks form one inmutable chain with the data being stored in multiple locations, decentralizing data and making it virtually tamper-proof.
Blockchain technology keeps people honest because any alteration to the blockchain is immediately exposed.
Thanks to the cutting-edge privacy and security they provide, blockchain companies are particularly sought after for highly-engaging stories by journalists. This is because they understand how trustworthy and transformative blockchain technology truly is.
As for the health tech industry, blockchain companies are giving patients control over their own data and preventing data hacks, all the while providing medical researchers with the tools to minimize errors in clinical trials.
Taking inspiration from the above, we’ve decided to explore the avenues where blockchain in health is making changes for the better.
Patients Control Their Private Health Information
With blockchains, the information contained is only available to the members of that specific blockchain.
By working with blockchain companies, the health tech industry can give patients control over their own data by sharing it with only the professionals that they trust like their doctors, insurance companies, and banks of choice.
When a patient’s data is being shared between physicians, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers, it’s easy for the patient to lose track of how many third parties have access to their data.
Blockchain companies not only let the patient see who has access to their data, but allow the patient to control who sees their data and for how long.
By establishing trust between patients and the healthcare system, there is an enormous potential for blockchain companies to change the way medical records are handled.
Data Breaches Are Prevented
Blockchain in health goes well beyond giving patients control of their data.
Cybersecurity is also a major challenge for the health tech industry, with millions of patient records breached every year due to cyberattacks.
In 2018 alone, over 15 million patient records were breached, with the largest single breach affecting 2.65 million patient records.
Apart from patients being able to control their own data, blockchain companies ensure that data is also protected from cyberattacks.
As blockchains are decentralized across multiple computers, data breaches are practically impossible. Even if a hacker gains access to one computer, they would only uncover one tiny piece of data out of the enormous jigsaw puzzle of information.
In other words, hackers wouldn’t be able to understand the fragmented data because it would be too small to make sense of.
Meanwhile, any cyberattack against a blockchain would immediately be seen by everyone on that particular blockchain, as they would see the alteration take place in real-time.
Clinical Research Inaccuracies Are Minimized
Clinical researchers rely upon a network of peers with whom to share their findings. However, their methodologies are often marred by inaccuracies that make the research difficult to reproduce.
Be it error, misconduct, or even fraud, these inaccuracies can prove to be a tremendous setback to progress.
Blockchain companies, even so, greatly reduce data inaccuracies by ensuring every step of the research is meticulously time-stamped, and then shared with the entire community in real-time.
This way, researchers can follow their colleagues’ methodologies, pointing out exactly when and where an error may have occurred in the research process.
With a more robust methodology with minimal errors, the easier it is to reproduce the experiments.
This creates better research, better results, and better solutions for all parties involved — from the patient to the practitioner and beyond.
The Bottom Line
Blockchain technology is sweeping across the health tech industry, giving stakeholders the most powerful decentralized tool on the planet for securing medical records and transactions.
Undergoing a massive digital overhaul over the past few years, the health tech industry is increasingly working with blockchain companies for all the opportunities they present.
Because healthcare affects everyone, and because blockchain technology has far-reaching potential to disrupt many industries, the intersection of blockchain and health represents a unique opportunity for blockchain PR.
Where innovative companies use powerful technologies to transform industries impacting the wellbeing of the entire population — that is where tomorrow’s headlines are born.
These are the types of stories that practically write themselves — a tempting offer for any journalist looking for their next exclusive.
