E Health Data On Chain- The Next Miracle By Blockchain?
According to a cost analysis of healthcare sector data breaches by Health Sector Cyber security Coordination Center, Healthcare organisations can lose $400 per compromised record due to data breaches, but the systems in use today are open to many different kinds of intrusions. Securing EHRs (Electronic Health Records) and related personal information is a top priority in the healthcare sector because patient data is immensely valuable to hackers looking for precise identity information.
The biggest security issues in healthcare may be resolved by newly developed blockchain technology. Smart contracts, cryptography, or decentralised storage among other features, give businesses a framework for improving data security while preserving data accuracy and preventing alteration of patient information or unauthorised access.
A blockchain can be configured to be permission-ed or permission less. While joining a permission-ed blockchain necessitates the owner’s approval, public or permission less blockchains, on the other hand, are accessible to any user. Permission-ed blockchains are more suitable for use in healthcare settings because patient data is extremely sensitive.
If permissions are not handled properly, this could result in difficulties. In an emergency, especially, healthcare professionals must have quick access to patient data. Inconsistent permissions could prevent access at crucial times, putting patients in potentially fatal situations.
Two strategies are used by blockchain technology for simple, secure permission management:
Smart contracts allow access based on predetermined criteria chosen by all contract participants. This rule-based access control method can be modified to automate a number of different workflows.
Patients now have access control, thanks to cryptographic keys. Each patient has a “master” key that can “unlock” their medical records, and they are able to provide copies of this key as needed to institutions or other healthcare providers. Patients can revoke keys in the event that the device on which a key is stored becomes compromised, and actions may be limited to reading or writing information.
Cryptographic keys and smart contracts minimise the risk of human error and shorten the time between collection of patient data and the fulfilment of tasks like insurance billing and payment by enabling the automation of processes that currently require one or more aggregators.
Giving patients the option over who they share their keys with efficiently puts them in charge of what can be performed with their medical information, including who can access it and when. Without a key, data cannot be decrypted, so no one should be able to view patient information without their express consent. To use the encrypted health data that they have obtained, hackers would also need to steal the keys. Pairing keys with smart contracts restricts outsiders who want to tamper with records for self-serving or malicious purposes or adding more information to a patient’s records.
By using the blockchain, we can create a setting where patients and other participants can review data before it is formally added to a record. This gives patients and healthcare professionals the chance to assess information, maintaining the accuracy of data across the blockchain. Switching to this type of cooperative system has the ability to improve the quality of care and lower the risk of mistakes that could be life-threatening, as a lot of patient health records currently contain errors.
To bring these advantages to healthcare organisations and the patients they serve, businesses like Epillo Health Systems are stepping ahead with innovative blockchain based solutions. The healthcare conglomerate has created a first-of-its-kind health ecosystem to offer a better way to provide patients full control of their health data by transferring their health information to a decentralised storage solution in which records are divided into blocks and distributed across the blockchain. The patients can also share their health data peer-to-peer with the concerned parties via decentralised immutable ledgers.
The idea of an exclusive health ecosystem stemmed from the present healthcare system, which has different functionaries to deal with different concerns of a patient accordingly- from health tests to medicines. Aasif Shah, the co-founder and CEO of Epillo Health Systems, observed a patient’s journey from visiting a health centre to billing and payment. The long queues, the insurance claim settlement, the slow & painful billing process, and most importantly- the health data privacy. It inspired him to create the first-of-its-kind health ecosystem in compliance with other healthcare brands under Epillo Group.
In addition to that Epillo introduced their own native token, which is deployed on the Polygon chain to provide quick and inexpensive transactions across a secure network. More commonly known as the bitcoin of healthcare, EPILLO Health token governs the entire Epillo health ecosystem (wherever permissible), which comprises of the smart wearable range (FitMint Wear), digital therapeutic software (INTRx™), electronic health management health records (HealthMate™), Retail Health & Medicine (HealthHUB™), and Health-Food (Freshwey™).
Not limited to swapping and staking, the EPILLO token can be redeemed to avail products and health & wellness services such as Health Retail Investments, Health Insurance, Medical Aids & Devices, Health Products, Nutraceuticals, Genomics testing (DNA) & Clinical testing services, Global Health Consultations, and more. The goal of the token is to build a sustainable economy by providing various utilities across the whole Epillo Ecosystem and matching the incentives for all system stakeholders- the community, builders, developers, and investors.
For impeccable health data security and advanced healthcare, one can be part of the Epillo health ecosystem by simply holding the EPILLO Health Token, which is getting listed on P2B Crypto Exchange on January 16.
