In instances of disease outbreaks or epidemics, it is vital that public health organizations have the ability to share crucial information quickly. Details regarding treatments, travels, medical records, and vaccines need to be shared as soon as possible across institutions and geographic locations to inform an effective response. For example, if a foreign traveler contracts hepatitis A or a dangerous virus spreads throughout a community by contaminated food or water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention needs to know about it so they can take appropriate action. To predict future epidemics, develop effective health policies, and ultimately control the spread of infectious diseases, the CDC, state and local health departments, and other organizations need to routinely share public health data. Although this seems like a simple task in the digital age, the reality is much more complicated.
Current systems of health data management are subject to different state laws and local practice standards, as well as concerns about privacy, security, and HIPAA compliance. While public health organizations share the same overall mission, they are unable to freely send and receive data amongst each other. There are a variety of data usage agreements in use and governmental policies dictate strict rules regarding health information access. The process of ensuring the correct data is sent or received by the right person for the right purpose is slow and inefficient. The lack of interoperability across health organizations and state borders results in inherent deficiencies in the management of public health. For example, the 2014 US Ebola outbreak was started by several infected individuals who were allowed back into the US when the government did not receive critical information about their health in time.
Blockchain technology has been recognized by Patientory and others in the healthcare industry as a viable solution to address the privacy, security, and interoperability issues facing public health. The governance rules of a blockchain allow only predefined, authorized users to access requested information. This would ensure the privacy of sensitive health data and empower public health stakeholders to define and control permissions. Since blockchain is a distributed ledger, transactions are verified, encrypted, and maintained by a network of computers that collectively share the virtually incorruptible information. This peer-to-peer model of data sharing reflects what healthcare organizations need to successfully address public health crises. We here at Patientory wholeheartedly believe that blockchain and public health belong together.