2020 officially goes in the record books as the worst year
so far in terms of the number of breaches reported. Can blockchain
technology help?
Imagine a one-stop-shop of information, tailored to your
individual healthcare needs – a WebMD of your own personal
data, designed and maintained just for you. Could this be
the future of healthcare?
In part, that’s what current medical records systems attempt to
do, as they seek a complete picture of “you” for diagnostic
evaluations. The problem is that many of your records are likely
scattered among various providers and referred specialists – some
you may no longer even see. This is known as the “silo effect” –
providers as geographically-dispersed “farms,” each with their own
individual silos of grain (data).
The concerns over this current reality are at least two-fold: 1)
The silos essentially act as barriers to the timely sharing of your
data (note the possessive your, because the data is
ultimately yours – not the healthcare system’s), and 2) the
existence of multiple silos (each with a potentially hackable
computer attached) actually widens the attack surface that may lead
to potential data exploitation and loss.
This describes our current healthcare system, and it is not
faring well on these two fronts. Case in point: 2020 officially
goes into the record books as the worst year so far in terms
of the number of breaches reported (616) to the Office of Civil
Rights, and the third-worst in terms of total records
(28,756,445 healthcare records being exposed, compromised, or
impermissibly disclosed), according to the HIPAA Journal.
Enter Blockchain Technology
Now, imagine instead a common “storage system” for all your
records, in which you hold the key. The system would have an
up-to-date ledger of your records, and would only be accessible to
the providers you want to grant access.
Increased availability and transparency would be inherent
features, allowing for immediate insights and a more informed
diagnosis. Greater security and data-loss protections would serve
to preserve your overall health and HIPAA compliance. This is what
blockchain technology promises to bring to healthcare.
To sketch the picture in greater detail, think of blockchain
technology – which was originally devised in 2009 for bitcoin
currency transactions – as enabling a “living document,” a kind of
running excel spreadsheet with synchronized cells that hold all
your medical records.
Decentralized, replicated databases (essentially, encrypted
digital blocks) promote more accurate records, elevating trust.
Since the technology isn’t tied to records on a single computer,
the likelihood of hacking is also greatly reduced.
In addition, any update to one “block” in the chain of your
records (say, your latest contact information) would update all –
at the same time. No need to call your multiple providers and
insurance companies (you’d likely miss some anyway), the update is
applied to each block in a time-stamped chronology. Productivity is
increased, while the burden of upkeep for providers is greatly
reduced.
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Practical Benefits of Blockchain
Think of how having ownership of your records in this way would
ease the process of seeking care. In addition to the benefits of
access and security mentioned above, you’d have the option to share
your records with the providers of your choice.
For example, say you’re anticipating a costly dental procedure.
You’re quoted a price that seems rather high and would like to
“shop around” for additional consults. As it stands now, getting
your records is complicated – you have to submit a request, pay a
fee (per HIPAA), and wait. If you happen to require records from
multiple sources, you’ll also need to piece together the fragments
of your larger health picture before you can proceed.
With blockchain technology, your potential provider would be
given an access key (by you) and directed to where they can find
all your information in one place – saving time and hassle. This is
known as a “peer-to-peer” (P2P) transaction, cutting out the
middleman. Because of the identical ledger, you can be sure that
they’re seeing all your latest, most up-to-date records. And, with
the “tamper-proof” characteristic of blockchain, you can also trust
that your records will be accessed only by those who need to see
them.
Implementation is Underway
Granted this is the ideal – but we’re not there yet. Testing of
blockchain technology for various applications is still continuing,
and widespread adoption and auditing will be needed to make it
happen. Bugs will also need to be worked out to handle certain
kinds of records, such as therapy notes.
And yet the benefits of blockchain could be far-reaching, even
transformative. For example, a common ledger for pharmacies could
potentially reduce opioid abuse, revealing when multiple
prescriptions from assorted pharmacies and doctors are being sought
by patients and misuse may be occurring.
Blockchain technology is still emerging, but the promise it
holds for furthering patient-centered healthcare looks encouraging.
Cloud-based storage and blockchain technology together would
potentially promote the greater security the industry has needed,
with all the additional benefits. As demand continues to drive
innovation, HIPAA Vault’s secure, HIPAA compliant
infrastructure will help provide the stability this emerging
technology offers.
HIPAA Vault is the leading provider of HIPAA
compliant solutions, enabling healthcare providers, business
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