Health Data on Blockchain Will Benefit Patients, Doctors and Manufacturers
“Blockchain is a team sport, especially in the healthcare system” said Daniel Laverick, VP of Digital and Data Solutions at Zuellig Pharma, during the 6th European Blockchain Convention. “It is connecting pharma manufacturers, practitioners and patients, making them be able to access product verification seamlessly, on their phones”.
“Blockchain is a team sport, especially in the healthcare system” – Daniel Laverick, VP of Digital & Data Solutions at Zuellig Pharma
Zuellig has adopted blockchain in recent years as a safety measure against counterfeit and damaged products due to weather conditions. Their mission is making healthcare more accessible and they are using blockchain as a key tool in reaching this goal.
Visual of Jan Wortmann, Daniel Laverick, Heather Leight Flannery and Alisson Percival at the 6th EBC
“We register all of our products on the blockchain so we can track them, see where they are, what condition they are in. For patients, the products are now integral in their involvement. That builds confidence in the product, and allows us to address questions around patient safety” – Daniel Laverick, VP of Digital & Data Solutions at Zuellig Pharma
Jan Wortmann, Digital Lead Supply Chain at Bayer Pharmaceuticals & Member of Pharmaledger has partnered with Zuellig for years to provide the logistics side of blockchain operations for the drugmaker and believes the security offered through blockchain could revolutionize how data is managed in the healthcare ecosystem. “The promise of blockchain is that it allows us to be sure that this is the thing that I have posted to the world” said Wortmann.
“There is also the potential to involve patients…It would be a great leap forward if every patient could be in control of their own data.” – Jan Wortmann, Digital Lead Supply Chain at Bayer Pharmaceuticals & Member of Pharmaledger
Patient ownership of their own data is a central issue for ConsenSys Health according to Heather Leigh Flannery, Founder and CEO at ConsenSys Health. “We speak about patient’s data in the possessive, but they are often the data subject. They don’t know where their data is, they have no access to it, and they have no custody over it. We purport that patients have a role in the governance and curation, aggregation, and monetization of information about them. But we still have ways to go in empowering data subjects” said Flannery.
“Patients don’t know where their data is, they have no access to it, and they have no custody over it. We purport that patients have a role in the governance and curation, aggregation, and monetization of information about them” – Heather Leight Flannery, Founder & CEO at ConsenSys Health
Laverick sees several roadblocks still when considering widespread adoption of sovereign healthcare data custody, including with patients themselves.
“There is a mindset shift that will need to take place, specifically how do patients and citizens get their minds around the idea that sharing their data is actually in their interest especially if they are the custodians.” – Daniel Laverick, VP of Digital & Data Solutions at Zuellig Pharma
The real benefits of patients adding their data to the blockchain will come through the use of neural networks and AI for diagnostic and research purposes. Wortmann believes that as patients become more educated their interest in engaging in mass data pools on the blockchain will only increase.
Keynote Visual elaborated by EBC team
Flannery added that the introduction of new decentralized infrastructure leads to a logistical question of capitalization.
“If no one owns it, how does it get capitalized? Who invests in it? Where does the money come from to fund this enormous new public good that is also in the commercial interests for many enterprises?” – Heather Leight Flannery, Founder & CEO at ConsenSys Health
Ultimately though, Flannery believes that more than financial incentives, “the real incentive will be in the health and well being of every individual and their family” when considering adding their data to the blockchain.
“The real incentive will be in the health and well being of every individual and their family” – Heather Leight Flannery, Founder & CEO at ConsenSys Health
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Published December 24, 2021, Barcelona