Taipei Medical University Hospital on Thursday launched a healthcare platform using blockchain technology to improve patient referral services and integrate individual healthcare networks so that people have easier access to their medical records.
The Healthcare Blockchain Platform was developed as a one-stop referral and long-term care service in support of the government’s Hierarchical Medical System policy, the hospital said in a statement.
More than 100 community-based clinics collaborated on the project, which uses blockchain technology to address “common pain points” in healthcare, including the physician referral process, transfer of data between medical institutions and personal patient portals, the hospital said.
On the platform, people “have a complete set of all their medical records, including high-resolution medical images, lab results, and clinical and health exam information,” it said.
“Using smart contracts, hospitals and clinics can request and authorize patient record sharing easily and securely,” it said.
Department of Preventive and Community Medicine head Chang Shy-shin (張詩鑫) said that currently, nurses at referral counters assist people seeking referrals.
The platform allows people to log in to a password-protected mobile app to make such requests, Chang said.
A blockchain is a list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography.
Hospital superintendent Chen Ray-jade (陳瑞杰) said blockchain technology not only helps to combine electronic medical records with electronic health records from multiple hospitals and clinics, it also incorporates the additional security feature of notification and consent before any transfer takes place.
The technology would minimize the risk of security breaches, thanks to the decentralized nature of blockchains, Chen said.
Moreover, people will no longer have to go through a tedious process for inter-hospital transfers, he said.
Physician Wang Yao-ting (王曜庭) at Zhuang Jing Clinic, a community-based healthcare provider in Taipei, said that the platform would be a great improvement.
With access to all the medical and health data of a referred patient through blockchains, doctors can gain a better understanding of their general health, Wang said.
China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has asked foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit details of their local staff, which is more proof that the “one country, two systems” model no longer exists, a Taiwanese academic said. The office sent letters dated Monday last week to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit the information it requires. The move followed Beijing’s attempt to obtain floor plans for all properties used by foreign missions in Hong Kong last year, which raised concerns among diplomats that the information could be used for
‘ABNORMITY’: News of the military exercises on the coast of the Chinese province facing Taiwan were made public by the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday Taiwan’s military yesterday said it has detected the Chinese military initiating a round of exercises at a bay area in coastal Fujian Province, which faces Taiwan, since early yesterday morning and it has been closely monitoring the drills. The exercises being conducted at Fujian’s Dacheng Bay featured an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) warplanes, warships and ground troops, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press statement. The ministry did not disclose what kind of military exercises are being conducted there and for how long they would be happening, but it did say that it has been closely watching
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Noting that researchers have found that 85 China-based blogs and accounts were spreading a conspiracy theory that a US “meteorological weapon” had caused recent fires in Hawaii, political observers in Taiwan said the nation also needs to be vigilant of Beijing employing similar disinformation campaigns against Taiwan. The untrue content concerning Hawaii was written in 15 languages and disseminated across a myriad of platforms including Facebook, YouTube and X, a report published in Gizmodo said, citing NewsGuard, an online news content ranker. The effort represented the most expansive Chinese informational operation to be uncovered by NewsGuard to date, Gizmodo said. The conspiracy theory