How Blockchain Can Help Doctors Take Better Care of You

The current health care system - from its arduous processes to its lack of coherency - prevents doctors from providing patients with the best care and negatively impacts the care they already deliver.

How blockchain will change the way health care is deliveredBlockchain has the potential to make it easier to put the patient in the center of care, while also making health care more affordable, accessible and user-friendly for all.

Because of these qualities, care coordination on a blockchain would result in effectively putting control of health care into the hands of patients and their providers, leading to faster care delivery and improved care outcomes.

A proper blockchain-based care coordination model would create an environment that connects patients, family members, care coordinators, providers and other permissioned parties in coordinating care in real time, securely synchronizing all those involved in a patient's health care journey.

Having patient data on a blockchain - a crucial element of a complete blockchain-based care coordination model - ensures that primary care providers and specialists have the resources they need to work together to deliver synchronized patient care.

To make sure specialists receive the patient information that is vital for decision-making, the Taipei Medical University Hospital has introduced a blockchain solution to give patients "a complete set of all their medical records, including high-resolution medical images, lab results, and clinical and health exam information." Although this is a good start, access to records does not automatically translate into better synchronized patient care.

An ideal care coordination system on a blockchain could go significantly further and provide an ecosystem for secure communication, real-time treatment monitoring and aggregated data sharing among providers, care coordinators, patients and other parties in the health care chain.

Overall, a successful blockchain-based care coordination model will facilitate continuous care oversight, timely interventions and, ultimately, better care outcomes throughout its entire continuum of care, from primary and preventative care to specialist and long-term care.

A blockchain-based care coordination system will help doctors be more effective at providing care, allow patients to control their data and be proactively involved in the treatment they deserve, and enable both the provider and the patient alike to lead more vibrant, fulfilled lives.

Blockchain technology is already redefining the entire health care ecosystem, creating a coordinated care network on which the patients control the process.