SHARING MEDICAL RESEARCH
DNA SEQUENCING
to resume ownership of their personal data , while also allowing professional healthcare practitioners to interact with it , revolutionising the delivery of treatments and preventative care .”
Estonia , a Baltic country that borders Russia , has been called the most advanced digital society in the world . People ’ s health records are stored on a blockchain , which among other things allows medication to be tracked from its manufacture all the way down to the patient ’ s adherence .
IBM Watson recently released their Digital Health Pass using blockchain technology . The Health Pass has been designed to help organisations verify the health of an employee – particularly their Covid status – while keeping their data private . Users are in control of their health information , managed in their own encrypted digital wallet which they can access on a mobile device .
SHARING MEDICAL RESEARCH
Leaders in the medical and life sciences sectors have made frequent calls for a data sharing platform where researchers can share the findings of clinical trials and other medical research . Experts have also called for more data sharing between pharma companies and those in chemicals , technology , manufacturing , and supply chain , amongst others .
According to the WHO , 50 per cent of clinical trials go unreported , generally because the results are negative . This leaves gaps in knowledge for stakeholders and patients . A secure , yet visible database with the results from trials of new medicines for instance , could improve patient care , and reduce the possibility of fraud .
Research published in the British Medical Journal has cited Enigma and OPAL developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as two examples of blockchain that are “ a revolutionary way of preserving privacy for epidemiological research as it ’ s developing .”
DNA SEQUENCING
While we ’ ve witnessed a rise in the availability of home DNA tests for individuals to find out about potential health conditions , whole genome sequencing , where the entire genetic code of a person is analysed , is still prohibitively expensive for consumers . Additionally , some people are concerned over the
65 healthcareglobal . com