Blockchain health apps privatize COVID-19 data but security is a concern
Blockchain-based apps used to store COVID-19 data may not be as private as they seem. New procedures are being implemented as the world slowly begins to reopen amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While temperature checks and mandatory face masks have become the new normal, the world is also witnessing the rise of digital health apps, or “health passports.” Many of these applications serve as a solution to trace individuals’ whereabouts or to store COVID-19 test results, which can then be presented to officials during travel or gatherings to show proof-of-health. While innovative, privacy....
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Medical professionals have developed ways to track and store personal health data securely within the blockchain. Blockchain use cases continue to grow as the world learns about the benefits that it brings. Apart from bringing financial innovations like the ability to do peer-to-peer transactions, blockchain now makes its way to the health industry.Health specialists created a method to track and store health data using blockchain technology. Rosanne Warmerdam, the CEO of Health Blocks, told Cointelegraph that her team had developed a way for users to generate and store patients’ health....
In the midst of a country-wide COVID-19 vaccination effort, Brazil looks to add blockchain-based tracking to the equation. A recent YouTube webinar from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security hosted discussion on blockchain's usefulness in several categories, including the fight against corruption. Blockchain's impact on COVID-19 tracing also surfaced during the discussion. A report from Reuters at the beginning of September clarified that the country is not likely to push a mandatory vaccine, while Sept. 9 news reported by MercoPress estimated a 2021 debut date for a COVID-19 shot in....
Gem, a provider of enterprise blockchain solutions, launched Gem Health, a network for developing applications and shared infrastructure for healthcare powered by the Ethereum blockchain, and announced that Philips Blockchain Lab, a research and development center of healthcare giant Philips, is the first major healthcare operator to join the Gem Health network. Gem Health is a blockchain network for the global community of companies and individuals that take part in the continuum of care. The company intends to leverage blockchain technology to address the trade-off between patient....
IBM’s new blockchain-based COVID-19 application puts privacy first. A new application powered by the IBM blockchain aims to help people around the world return to physical encounters amid the coronavirus pandemic.IBM Watson Health, a healthcare-focused arm of tech giant IBM, is launching IBM Digital Health Pass, a blockchain-based app to support global organizations and companies as they start reopening after months of lockdown.IBM Watson stated that the new app can deploy multiple data types like COVID-19 test results and onsite temperature scans to generate a verified health status. With....
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is partnering IBM to research blockchain technology applications toward the exchange of health data. Revealed in an announcement yesterday by IBM Watson Health, the US federal agency is looking at ways in which health data be shared from medical devices and wearables, clinical trials and data from mobile devices. An initial focus will be dedicated to oncology-related data, the press release by IBM added. The joint-initiative will last two years until early 2019 and initial research findings are expected to be revealed this year. Blockchain’s....