1. Record-keeping
If blockchain technology is capable of maintaining secure records of financial transactions, sensitive information of all types is likely to find a blockchain-based home eventually.
Medical Records
Until now, medical providers have faced numerous hurdles when it comes to the digital storage and exchange of patient records.
A 2013 paper published in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics outlined three primary obstacles to effective digital record management, as follows:
"The three main obstacles relate to:
- record accessibility (knowing where event records are and being able to access them),
- maintaining privacy (ensuring that only those authorised [sic] by the patient can access and extract meaning from the records),
- and assuring the functionality of the shared information (ensuring that the records can be shared in a non-proprietorial fashion across platforms without loss of meaning, and that their authenticity and trustworthiness are demonstrable)."
Fast forward five years.
With blockchain technology in the mix, all three obstacles are either reduced to an acceptable level or eliminated entirely.
First, a single decentralized blockchain database can be accessed by authorized individuals – whether healthcare providers, insurance carriers, or patients – anywhere, at any time, and in a format that all parties can work with.
An added benefit to such a system would be a transition in control. Tel Aviv-based Proof Work has introduced a concept that would put the power to share medical data in the hands of patients, rather than medical providers.
Second, blockchain technology allows for security measures that are unavailable via other digital sharing methods, making privacy concerns easier to address. (For a more detailed discussion regarding these security measures, see Vitalik Buterin's "Privacy on the Blockchain" post on the Ethereum Blog.)
Finally, blockchain technology reduces the number of intermediaries that handle each input and maintains permanent, timestamped records of each transaction, which reduces the opportunity for error, while simultaneously delivering a high level of transparency and trust.
Fitness Tracking
In addition to using blockchain technology to improve healthcare providers' efficacy, some companies are betting that adding fitness and diet factors to the equation will give patients a more holistic view of their progress toward health goals.
Nokia announced in November 2017 that it has a pilot program in the works to store volunteer participants' fitness data, such as steps and hours of sleep, in a blockchain database to test the technology's potential for gathering real-time health data.
According to Nokia, the objective of their pilot is to "explore new opportunities in the rising field of Digital Health, with the aim of giving people more control over their personal health data – how it is shared, who can access it, and how it can be used – with a focus on privacy and security offered by blockchain technologies."
Another new blockchain-based platform, MintHealth, offers token incentives ("vidamints") to encourage participants to make healthy choices; the tokens may then be used to pay for healthcare-related expenses, such as health insurance premiums, co-pays, and prescriptions.
Education Records
It's not just the healthcare industry that stands to be revolutionized by blockchain technology.
Sony Corporation, in collaboration with Sony Global Education, recently submitted a patent application for a blockchain-based repository that would house people's school records, including courses completed, test scores, diplomas, degrees, and more, like a digital transcript.
In an August 9, 2017 press release, Sony shared, "By using technology that makes mutual use of educational achievements and activity records in an open and safe way, this reliable system centralizes the management of data from multiple educational institutions and makes it possible to record and reference educational data and digital transcripts.
Such a system could allow teachers and students to access relevant data, while maintaining privacy. It could also provide subsequent educational institutions and potential employers a transparent, trustworthy location to acquire applicant credentials.
In addition to housing education records, Sony suggested that AI analysis of data in such a platform could be used by educational institutions "to provide suggested improvements to educational institutions' curriculums and management."
