Blockchain Startup to Boost Patient Safety and Prevent Overprescribing

A blockchain solution has unveiled bold plans to make the United Kingdom's medicine market safer by creating a system that prevents patients from ordering the same prescription from multiple pharmacies while stopping counterfeit drugs from making their way into the supply chain.

A lack of data sharing means patients can make multiple prescription orders across several websites in a matter of minutes - an issue of concern for regulators given the growing levels of drug dependency and addiction in the U.K. MediConnect says that, when it comes to opioid painkillers, patients could end up in possession of potentially lethal quantities of the drug in a short space of time, and a lack of control mechanisms means that all of this could take place daily, without a coordinated duty of care.

Initially, the company's platform is going to be used by two established online pharmacies that already have a combined user base of 300,000 people, with an average of 30,000 to 50,000 prescriptions currently handled per month.

MediConnect hopes that its solution can improve patient outcomes, prevent drug misuse, establish where medicines have come from, and ensure that product recalls can happen more efficiently.

Blockchain brainsTo achieve its vision, MediConnect's blockchain is going to be powered by Stratis, whose in-house developers are being tasked with building a suite of services tailored to the needs of pharmacies.

The first, a private permissioned blockchain, is going to store confidential data - such as customer prescriptions - while a public blockchain will be used to process transactions made via the specially created MEDI token.

MediConnect's system would guarantee the visibility and transparency of drug circulation in the online pharmacy industry on both sides.

Manufacturers, logistics companies, wholesalers, online pharmacies, doctors and patients all play a role, with the blockchain offering benefits for each.

Health care professionals would be able to cut back on the paperwork that prevents them from spending more time with patients, while patients would be able to take ownership of their medical records and have confidence in the provenance of their medication.

"We need to influence change with regulators and our vision is that one day it will be mandatory for all pharmacies and prescribers to be using a single distributed ledger to prevent the misuse, overprescribing and potential dependency of prescription drugs."