Whitepaper

To provide the best care for their patients, clinicians, hospitals and other healthcare entities need timely, pertinent clinical information. The lack of access to such data not only results in costlier, less efficient care; it causes errors that can lead to serious adverse events, including death.

The current siloed system often prevents the timely flow of data across healthcare providers and systems. Interoperability has been dubbed by some as health IT’s Holy Grail. It’s a cliché, but it’s true: It’s deeply desired yet seemingly unattainable. Interoperability has long been a goal–and a Meaningful Use requirement–but it has yet to be put into practice. Aside from the technological challenges to interoperability, there are those posed by data blocking[1] and the practice of charging patients for copies of their own electronic records.

Comprehensive patient information should automatically–and securely–follow the patient across the healthcare continuum, and patients should have unrestricted access to their own complete medical records. But that rarely happens.

MedChainX, a blockchain-based solution for healthcare, changes the “should” to “will.” Launched in August 2017, MedChainX is the antithesis of the siloed, centralized data stores that dominate healthcare data today.

Medical data among institutions is generally shared one of three ways: push, pull or view. But each approach varies by vendor, institution and state law. MedChainX offers a different model altogether.

A patient’s data is stored securely in the community-wide ledger, giving clinicians, hospitals and other relevant organizations access to a patient’s complete health (not just medical) history. Because the entire chain is updated in real time, any changes to medication and allergy lists will be immediately available. That also means there’s no need re-enter the same medical data at each encounter with a new provider or institution. It dramatically reduces the likelihood of  costly duplicative –and therefore– wasteful screenings and services.

The MedChainX model provides a decentralized control mechanism. Everyone In the chain has a stake, but no one owns it exclusively. A clear audit trail ensures accountability. This approach allows for control of record access without the need to create custom functionality for each vendor.

This approach also gives patients control over their data, unlike most, if not all, current approaches.

Patients have full access to their data as well as control over how it is shared.[4] In accomplishing this, MedChainX achieves the ONC’s call for individuals to “have access to longitudinal electronic health information” to which they can add information and “direct … to any electronic location.”

This record would include patient-generated data. It would accept data from the patient’s Fitbit (or other wearable), 23andMe profile, biometric data, etc. Patients can build a holistic record of their medical data and authorize others for viewership, such as physicians providing a second opinion or family members and care guardians.[5] This allows individuals to be consumers of healthcare and to control their own data, insurance and care.

MedChainX offers the potential of automating claims adjudication and payment processing, eliminating the need for intermediaries and reducing the administrative costs and time for providers and payors (and thereby also reducing cost and frustration for patients). It would also minimize, if not eliminate, the number of claims that are rejected due to incomplete or inaccurate patient information.

We are not reinventing the wheel. The financial services industry has already demonstrated the power of blockchain. The technologies for data storage, security and encryption already exist and are in use today. MedChainX brings together the how and why, to better assist patients, providers and health systems. We think electronic medical records can be made more mobile, reliable, trusted, and secure, and we intend to make it happen.