This article will focus on a company known as Medichain, which has plans to revolutionize the healthcare industry with blockchain. One of the main ideas behind the project, is to give patients ownership of their own medical data. It will essentially allow the secure storage of patients data, giving them access to specialists in any geographical location. This proposed new blockchain idea, could literally save lives.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
To fully understand how Medichain intends to change the state of the healthcare industry we must first have a good understanding of what a blockchain is. To put it simply, a blockchain is a decentralized ledger. What this essentially means is that there is neither a central administrator nor centralized data storage. This decentralized ledger is shared across a formidable network of sites, organizations and people.
Sharing the ledger in this manner means that every participant has access to a copy of the ledger. Transactions are validated on the blockchain through the solving of complex math problems. This method of recording transactions is very effective as the network can easily identify malicious transactions as they will not be present on other copies of the ledger on the ledger.
What Is Cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is essentially a digital currency that is used on a blockchain, to both validate and record transactions. They function without the need for a third-party, such as a bank. This helps to reduce costs and drastically speeds up transaction times. Blockchain technology does not require bank transactions that can take days to clear along with hefty transaction fees, meaning that it is a very attractive technology for the future. In fact transactions are processed on the blockchain within minutes, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and the fees associated with the transactions are negligible.
When transactions are made, the wallets engaging in the transaction use an encrypted electronic signature, which provides a mathematical proof that the transaction is in fact coming from an owners wallet.
Right, now we have a basic understanding of what a blockchain and cryptocurrency are, let’s analyse how Medichain intend to shake up the healthcare industry using these innovative new technologies!
The Underlying Philosophy Of Medichain
Medichain believes that customers should have full control over their own medical data and that all medical data has some kind of value. Should a customer be willing to do so they can choose to sell their own data anonymously, to pharmaceutical companies for example.
The Current State Of Medical Information
In its current form, medical data tends to be both scattered and inaccessible to the people who need it the most, namely researchers, doctors and the patients themselves. Systems of storing medical information seem to be far too complex and numerous, take for example Boston, which relies on a staggering 26 different electronic medical records. This bleak reality is happening on a global scale and is costing both money and lives. This is a proven fact, with medical errors costing the United States of America close to $1 trillion and they are also the third largest cause of death in the US!
What Issues Do Medichain Propose To Solve?
As well as patients being able to store their data in a secure fashion, with easy access there are many other advantages of Medichain’s proposal for the sharing of medical data. As more and more patients begin to share their medical data on the blockchain, it will help doctors to find quicker and more effective solutions for people suffering from similar health problems. The new era of sharing will also help to speed up the process of finding cures to the worlds most common and dangerous diseases. Medichain intends to lessen the risk to patients sharing their data by allowing different levels of access to the blockchain, meaning that patients have far more control over their own personal medical data.
What Is The Size Of The Market That Medichain Is Targeting?
Medichain recognizes that the medical data market makes up a significant percentage of the market for developing future drugs. At present, it costs on average $2.6 billion to develop a new drug and the overall annual budget for the United States is $153 billion. On top of this, the Electronic Health Records Market is reportedly worth over $15 billion.
Medichain Tokens And Their Uses
The Medichain tokens (cryptocurrency) will be known as MCU tokens and they will have a variety of uses, including:
- Research Program Voting
The MCU tokens will be used to determine which areas in which to focus future research on.
- Personal Medical Data Services
One of the perks of holding MCU tokens will be the option to purchase digitally transmitted medical services, which may include diagnostic services from organizations participating in the blockchain ecosystem.
- MCU Discounts
Holders of MCU tokens will be able to use their tokens for discounts on an array of digital services and wearable technologies such as Fitbit products and Apple watches. In addition to this, MCU tokens can also be used for discounts on medical services, such as prescriptions or consultations.
The Social Benefit Of Medichain
Population based data on a global scale has resulted in a greater understanding of the World Health Organisations top ten diseases, including diabetes, obesity and heart failure. With more and more patients opting in to the Medichain blockchain ecosystem, the more breakthroughs are made to help both the patient and others achieve optimum health.
The Future Of Cryptocurrency
In this final section I will discuss the future of cryptocurrency which is paramount to Medichain’s development and growth.
At this present moment in time, cryptocurrency is relatively new and has yet to be regulated on a global scale. The potential of blockchain technology to be integrated into existing institutions such as healthcare, the media, retail and banking is huge and should not be underestimated. Over the coming years the development of many businesses can be shaped by a more thorough understanding of the potential of blockchain technology.
Where Can I Find Out More About Medichain?
If you want to learn more about the Medichain project, visit their website here: https://medichain.online/
You can also join their Telegram group if you have any queries about the project here: https://medichain.online/
Finally, here is my profile on Bitcointalk if you want to follow me: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1559399