Blockchain Transforming Healthcare Data Flows

Abstract

Healthcare data exists in silos. These siloed systems lack open standards surrounding how data is stored, labeled, and tagged. In turn, these data silos decrease data liquidity, or the ability of data to flow throughout the healthcare system. Undeniably, the healthcare industry sees the value in responsibly sharing health data to extract more value and new insights using predictive analytics, open science, and collaborative solutions. Effective collaboration requires collaborative data. Particularly with health-related data, “sending that data from one peer to another in a secure manner, in a compliant manner, and in a transparent manner” is vital. While organizations share this sentiment, a complex regulatory framework combined with data usage agreements and non-interoperable, proprietary databases add friction to this data exchange. Particularly in healthcare, blockchain enables greater transparency between healthcare professionals sharing data, and it empowers patients to have control over their data. First, this paper briefly discusses blockchain. Next, this paper outlines issues that plague the healthcare industry including the laws that serve as the framework. Finally, this paper discusses architecture considerations for a blockchain based healthcare data exchange that also respects the current regulatory environment.