Ten years after blockchain was conceptualised, we are still yet to see a solid implementation of this new technology that has gained mass adoption. With nearly 1500 cryptocurrencies on the market, it has been difficult to decide which one to invest your hard earned FIAT on. Of course you can easily ride the BTC wave up and down, but will that really help to solve real-world issues? Probably not. Sure, anyone can make easy money hodling that, but it won’t help my conscience that I’m not investing in something that will help improve humanity in some way or another.
All of my cryptoasset investments are based on the fact I believe they will somehow impact society in a positive way - whether that be advancing AI computing power, helping to put money back in the pockets of content creators or improving the way we vote in elections to reduce corruption. I believe all of these applications will not only benefit society, but I truly think that some of these blockchain applications may touch upon my life one way or the other. Recently I came across a new cryptoasset that may affect our lives even more than the ones mentioned above. What I discovered was a new healthcare blockchain called MediChain.
MediChain is aiming to revolutionise the way that patient data in Electronic Health Records (EHR) is stored and ultilised. Blockchain is the perfect application for EHR as it’s secure, anomimised and easy to access.
Before I go any deeper I just want to outline that MediChain is not the only company out there who are trying to put EHR on the blockchain, but that’s where the similarities end. MediChain has a massive point of difference that could solve not only existing EHR issues, but discover cures to the world’s most common diseases.
One of the biggest hurdles for mass adoption of a new EHR is the cost. Many existing systems not only have astronomical licencing costs, but they also have on-going fees that make it difficult for health care providers to utilise any one particular EHR platform. What makes MediChain different is that there is no cost for patients or medical institutions to use MediChain’s EHR system. While this may seem impossible as the infrastructure running costs would be expensive to say the least, MediChain’s EHR different.
The system is funded by medical researchers that pay to use anonymous patient medical data stored in their blockchain. What this means is that patients who store their medical record on MediChain’s EHR will be able to share their anonymous data to help find cures for diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart failure. Research institutions who utilise patient data will pay MediChain using tokens which are then distributed to MediChain as well as the medical institutions who uploaded the data to the blockchain and most importantly the patients themselves. Basically everyone wins, researchers can leverage big data at lower costs, and users of the system are rewarded for enriching the system with new data.
You may be thinking, why you would want to hold this particular token as you may receive tokens for free by using the system? I imagine that the amount of tokens (or fractions of tokens) received from researchers will be very small – meaning that it would likely take a long time before you would receive any particular benefit – although those that are chronically ill may receive more tokens due to the fact their dataset would be larger and fit into more research programs (don’t quote me on this).
Token ownership (especially in larger quantities) has many benefits, and the largest of these would be the right to vote on future medical research grants. Basically what this means is that universities and institutions that may not be able to afford to use MediChain’s database could put forward a proposal to to receive a research grant. Imagine the feeling that you’ve been partially responsible for of a cure of a widespread disease simply by holding a token and voting on a medical grant. Also, if a significant medical breakthrough is found, that research would reference MediChain as their data source – meaning that the system would gain widespread knowledge in the medical field as a viable source of medical data.
Not only will token holders be able to vote on research grants, but they will also be able to utilise their tokens with participating medical services participating in the system. For example, you may break your arm and require an X-RAY – this could potentially be paid for with MediChain tokens.
Another benefit of token ownership is access to discounts with MediChain partners. As they are actively forming relationships with device manufacturers including Fitbit, you would be able to purchase health tracking devices at discounted prices. If you extrapolate from here, you could imagine that this could mean that these devices would link up with MediChain’s EHR database. This means that you wouldn’t even need to visit a doctor to enrich the system with new data.
Lastly, I want to outline the benefits for average people who use MediChain to store their EHR. The largest benefit would be that users have ownership and access to their medical history. I can’t imagine that many readers of this article would have access to their EHR easily. By having all of your medical history in one place, you would allow medical practitioners to provide better recommendations when receiving assessments. Many of us rely on our memory to recall previous medical issues when providing information to doctors which can potentially result in serious consequences. Another benefit to users of the system if implemented is that Medical Insurers could assess your EHR and provide you with the best suited policy without the need for unnecessary cover. Another patience use-case, is that if you were use a health tracking device and the MediChain system recognises a harmful trend in your health data, it could notify you early enough so that you could correct whatever issue is causing you harm.
End notes:
While at the time of writing, MediChain has not yet commenced their ICO, they already have a working proof of concept based on MIT's MEDREC blockchain platform. This is a great sign that this project is not smoke and mirrors like many ICOs out there. MediChain is also working closely with future partners in the epilepsy, rheumatology and pediatrics fields and are actively build relationships with major existing electronic health record leaders and as mentioned before, health-related device manufacturers such as Fitbit.
So if you want to make a quick buck, maybe look to invest elsewhere - but if you truly want to change the world, invest in businesses that can make that happen.
For more information, visit their website here: https://medichain.online/