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.
Phase 2 clinical trial results of the Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday were published on the Web site of The Lancet: Respiratory Medicine, in an early preview before publication. The study paves the way for other nations to issue emergency use authorizations or produce the Medigen vaccine, given The Lancet’s credibility as a highly respected medical journal with a rigorous peer-review process, Medigen’s international affairs director Lien Chia-en (連加恩) said. Lien said that the study is important as it proposes methods for converting international units for efficacy comparisons. The methods have been used for correlating the efficacy of hepatitis B
Ambassador Theaters on Tuesday announced that its Breeze Center cinemas in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) would close late this month after screening thousands of major Hollywood movies and local favorites over two decades. Ambassador Theaters, one of the largest cinema chain operators in Taiwan, said that Oct. 25 would be the last day the Breeze Center cinemas screen movies, adding that its lease expires on that day. “We sincerely appreciate the support and recognition from audiences in Taipei over the past 20 years,” the company said. “We look forward to seeing you again in the future.” The cinemas started operating in 2001, upon
LIABILITIES MULLED: New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi said Taipei would find out if the firm was legally registered, the guide was licensed and the weather was assessed The assets of Tian Da Local Nature Co are to be frozen after at least four people died after falling into the Beishi River (北勢溪) on an outing the company had organized on Saturday, the Taipei City Government said yesterday. Six people — two adults and four children — were washed away by a flash flood on the river in New Taipei City’s Hubaotan (虎豹潭) area. They were participating in a Nature Joy Camp outdoor activity with a group of 16 adults and 15 children led by a guide surnamed Su (蘇). As of 4:30pm yesterday, four of the missing had been
THREATS: Dismissing Beijing’s assertion that its military exercises only target Taiwanese separatists, Chiu Kuo-cheng said war has no regard for political affiliation In case Taiwan is attacked, the military will defend the nation and not stand by like “plastic toys,” Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. Chiu was responding to Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) asking him to clarify his remark last week that “the military holds to the principle that we will not fire the first shot.” Wang asked Chiu whether he meant what he said literally or that Taiwan would not start a war. “The Republic of China will not start a war,” Chiu
RSS