Outdated healthcare models are quickly becoming a thing of the past, thanks to an increase in startups using blockchain technologies. API firms like PokitDok, which recently announced its partnership with Intel to create a blockchain ledger solution called DokChain, is just one example of how cryptocurrency technology is being used to innovate and rebuild the healthcare industry.
And it’s not just about the technology. Products like DokChain will allow healthcare professionals to get back to the most important part of their jobs: interacting with patients.
The shift isn’t only happening in the United States, either. Estonia, for example, already has a history of integrating blockchain into its healthcare system. They’re the first country to nationalize blockchain within a healthcare system.
“Estonia has done it, and it works,” Patientory CEO Chrissa McFarlane told International Business Times. “And they don’t have any issues with breach of patient healthcare information.”
Blockchain applications allow healthcare organizations to secure and store patient information in an efficient way that limits the amount of time doctors and other healthcare providers have to spend on it—so they can get back to their patients.
Estonia’s success—not to mention the growth of companies like PokitDok—is encouraging others to dive into the market as well. McFarlane’s Atlanta-based Patientory is currently working on a blockchain network that includes a pilot program with Kaiser Permanente, which handles more than 25,000 records for chronically ill patients. The system also includes an app that allows patients to communicate quickly, easily, and securely with their doctors.
Even for patients who don’t need such frequent interaction with their providers, blockchain applications make for a streamlined process when it comes to maintaining and accessing patient data.
But the fervor over blockchain and its potential positive impact on the healthcare industry is just beginning. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently chose 15 papers on blockchain to be shared at the next government-sponsored conference in September. And so the future of healthcare blockchain innovation continues to rise.
Read the full International Business Times article here.