Future Directions

Thus far, blockchain has primarily been advertised in relation to cryptocurrencies, but digital money is merely one amongst a host of possible applications. The core tenants of blockchain — interoperability, privacy, and equity — could revolutionize and democratize many institutions. As a recently admitted medical student, I am eager to reform electronic medical recording (EMR) software, leveraging blockchain to tackle the ubiquitous communication barriers in the Canadian healthcare system.

While there is no shortage of technological marvels, I believe modern civilization’s advancements in communication are the pinnacle of human achievement. These technologies — telegraph, phone, internet — serve as an expressway, transmitting diverse ideas faster than our ancestors would even imagine. By cultivating the infrastructure necessary for widespread collaboration, communication technologies have encouraged and innovation and facilitated societal advancement.

Unfortunately, these advancements have yet to fully be adopted in medicine. For too long, archaic, unintuitive electronic medical recording (EMR) software has been creating vast silos of patient information — impeding communication, fragmenting treatment plans, and undermining health practitioners’ efforts.

But the emergence of blockchain technology provides new tools to address these issues. My unique combination of medical, technological, and programming expertise places me at a critical intersection for healthcare innovation.

Interoperability is the ability to securely exchange information among different parties — in this case, various health practitioners. Current EMRs’ limitations result in frequent communication mishaps that subject Canadian patients to duplicate testing procedures, wasting taxpayer money and increasing wait times — a major concern.

Launching a blockchain-based EMR instead could be a comprehensive solution for the efficient storage, retrieval, and access of medical documentation. This solution ensures practitioners have up-to-date patient information and a clear timeline of their previous interactions and prescriptions — encouraging accountability, transparency, and collaboration.
Blockchain technology would be particularly valuable for medical imaging. As data breaches and security leaks become an ever more prominent concern, having a single point of failure (centralized data storage of sensitive patient images) seems counterintuitive and bordering on irresponsible. To circumvent breaches, I am working on blockchain-based image-sharing services allowing patients to retain direct ownership of images and use cryptographically secured protocols to approve access for physicians. These protocols offer patients greater privacy through the secure storage of sensitive medical data.

Blockchain-based solutions offer an equitable model of healthcare, providing patients greater autonomy while maintaining health practitioners’ accountability and transparency through an immutable ledger documenting interactions and prescriptions. Applying blockchain’s core tenets to medicine will mark a new age of medicine in which patients are empowered to exercise agency and play a greater role in their care.

As with any new technology, blockchain adoption requires cautious optimism and advocates with vigour, conviction, and industry-specific expertise to carefully navigate implementation. I have spent years learning the technical and theoretical underpinnings of blockchain while working in clinical settings to truly understand patients’ and physicians’ technological needs. Reforming dominant practices and longstanding beliefs is a daunting but necessary undertaking. I am convinced we are on the brink of a much-needed evolution in healthcare, and I stand ready to lead the charge.