Company to Store Healthcare Data on Blockchain Platform for Simple and Secure Data Sharing
June 26 2018 - 11:50AM
InvestorsHub NewsWire
Data storage in healthcare industries is of critical importance.
Security breaches in this sector will not only have an impact
financially — in terms of health insurance — but could also
compromise patient safety. The new platform Timicoin aims to enhance patient data safety through
blockchain technology.
Describing themselves as the “Tokenized Healthcare Ecosystem,”
Timicoin claims to offer a solution to the current fragmented and
isolated nature of patient health data, which results in
inefficient and ineffective use of the information. For example,
medical institutions transferring information on patients is
currently more complex than it should be, because of isolated
facilities and user data. Timicoin propose that their blockchain
solution will secure healthcare information within a Health
Information Exchange (HIE).
The Timicoin white paper defines an HIE as “a reliable and
interoperable electronic sharing of clinical data obtained by the
patients, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health care
[sic] providers across unaffiliated institutions which in turn
creates a network effect.” The team claims that this will allow for
the simple transfer of patient data, no matter where in the world
they are being treated. This, in turn, would avoid wasting
resources — for example, retesting patients when results have
already been obtained elsewhere.
TimiHR is the name given to the “mobile health record”
accessible via a mobile app, enhancing the portable nature of
personal health data. The TimiHR ecosystem will be powered by the
Timicoin Utility Token and also feature the HIPAA compliant
TimiChat private messaging service to allow secure communications
between patients, providers and other data users. TimiCloud is a
secure storage platform also featured on the app, used for all
blockchain backups and data index references. The separate
TimiPaitent app will also allow patients to manage permissions for
consumers requesting to access their data and maintain their health
records, as well as control Timicoin payments and deposits.
The team outlines the four steps of how the system
works. Firstly, daily activity data from wearable smart healthcare
devices is provided with the patient’s permission. Clinical trial
reports and test results can then be combined with this monitoring
data and added to the TimiEMR hospital records. TimiHealth’s “Query
Engine” can then mine patient records when a consumer requests
access to the data, and once the contract and payment have been
confirmed and processed, the private data records can be shared —
via blockchain — directly between the provider and consumer. The
team is keen to highlight that patient identity is never revealed
unless explicit permission is granted by the patient, and access
can only be granted to their data when confirmed by the patient via
the TimiPatient app. Security is enhanced by the use of reputable
systems such as DashPay for payments and Hyperledger for data sharing.
Timicoin claims there could be multiple benefits to
this storage system. Firstly, in terms of authenticity, any
tampering of network nodes in the blockchain can be easily detected
by users, as the latest node hash will always be passively
connected to the previous node hash. Secondly, patient information
will be constantly available from anywhere in the world — in real
time — from any updated node, once the patient grants permission.
And finally, the Hyperledger system will enhance privacy by
implementing a “permissioned blockchain network that will define
user roles and access based on the type of user and the payment
contracts.” This data will remain on the healthcare institution’s
computer, unless shared on the Hyperledger channel after the
contract has been initialized.
In terms of mining and rewards, newly generated Timicoins are
allocated to miners who process the transaction. Transaction fees
will also sometimes be given to patients for providing data and
identity.
According to the company, this approach to healthcare
data storage has been welcomed by some
prominent medical professionals, with Jim Bonnette, M.D., outlining
the positives that tokenization can bring to healthcare. Andre
Laurent, the worldwide director of engineering for enterprise
networking sales at Cisco, has also explained the multiple
benefits of blockchain integration in the
health professions.
Timicoin, with their advisory board based in the U.S. and
technology teams in Puerto Rico, India and London, could be set to
simplify and secure how healthcare data is stored, as well as
enhancing how it can be best used to further the development of
modern medicine.
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