How Blockchain is Disrupting Healthcare

By Ravi Jotwani
November 9th, 2017

The Healthcare Industry
Currently, we as a society employ an outdated model for our healthcare industry. In thisInformation Age, we are still required to physically present ourselves to medical officesand individual doctors to diagnose medical conditions. On top of that, we have to repeatthe process if we want to obtain a second or third opinion. Additionally, access andaudits to healthcare information are incredibly limited using centralized hospital databases, and these can be streamlined much further. It’s about time we saw some innovation in fields other than technology. The Potential of Blockchain Blockchains are decentralized ledgers that give access to accurate information to anyone on a network. They are the underlying frameworks for popular digital cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Blockchain technology is making huge strides in industries across the spectrum. In fact, given the almost unlimited potential of the applications of this technology, the healthcare industry we all know today can easily be completely overhauled.
Since a blockchain is essentially a database of records, it fits in perfectly for what medical offices do. They store and evaluate personal data in order to diagnose and treat health issues that occur in their clients. However, by using a decentralized system, direct access to medical professionals without the need of a governing organization would result in accessible and affordable healthcare for anyone with access to the Internet. This is exactly what the healthcare industry needs.

Is Anyone Working On This Right Now?
Google’s own DeepMind Artificial Intelligence division aims to be able to utilize ablockchain to improve audit ability to this healthcare information. The immutable natureof blockchains allows for a huge history of all of the changes made to health records accessible to those delegated, or industry professionals. Doctors and other medical specialists would be able to communicate with patients directly and efficiently online
through the blockchain. Additionally, all edit history of this information would be visible, making for efficient recordkeeping and transparency on both sides.
Another company utilizing this technology is Well. They are taking this initiative a step further by planning on creating a digital infrastructure wherein all checkups and diagnoses can be done from the comfort of one’s own home, in accordance with familial policies, and in any language. The blockchain would also minimize the time required for updates to medical information to be made and execution of treatment to be initialized.
Well have visualized a global setup in which these interactions can take place. By using a blockchain, they have provided access to top-notch healthcare providers directly to users rather than going through an institution. This idea is groundbreaking: it would significantly reduce the unnecessary costs and other redundancies in the process of seeking and obtaining quality medical help.
The Future of Healthcare
This technology has the potential to drive major changes in the healthcare industry. To modernize it, the first step is to apply new tools, and Google and Well have done just that by finding innovative ways to apply technology originally intended for economics. By creating these novel and effective solutions to the inefficiencies present in “modern” healthcare, Google and Well have become pioneers in the onset of the Information Age. Soon, we will see quality healthcare being offered to everyone, no matter what their job titles or governments say. We are taking control back from the people who have spent their lives inflating prices of goods and services. Blockchain’s impact on not only healthcare, but its multitude of other use cases, truly has the power to transform the way we all interact with each other and the world around us.