Thanks for sharing. The concept is certainly innovative. However as a medical professional, I had some questions:
- Why does your project need a blockchain structure as opposed to a centralized database (per HealthVault, Epic, etc)? The product that you showed is obviously a thin client, so are full clients storage nodes?
- The structure seems akin to projects such as SiaCoin and Storj, but with a medical twist. How does such data (even encrypted) maintain HIPAA compliance across state and possibly national borders? Do you consider your project a HIPAA-compliant cloud?
- How do you see the storage utilization of your nodes compared to the two above projects? (this gets back to the "Why blockchain" question.)
- Why did you select Ethereum for your blockchain of choice for token issuances?
- Do you plan to engage the traditional EHR providers such as Epic to facilitate the initial data preload as well as extensions for utilizing your blockchain/database? If not, how do you expect to get patient data onto the network? From doctors/nurses? Patients? etc
Apologies if some of these are addressed through the whitepaper; haven't had the time to thoroughly peruse it yet. Your responses greatly appreciated.
All GREAT questions! Thank you for asking!! Please see answers below:
- Why does your project need a blockchain structure as opposed to a centralized database (per HealthVault, Epic, etc)? The product that you showed is obviously a thin client, so are full clients storage nodes?
- Centralized databases are currently prone to cyberattacks and they are not interoperable. Blockchain gives us the infrastructure to connect with multiple EMR centralized databases (nodes) ie: Epic, Cerner, etc. for a longitudinal patient record.
- The structure seems akin to projects such as SiaCoin and Storj, but with a medical twist. How does such data (even encrypted) maintain HIPAA compliance across state and possibly national borders? Do you consider your project a HIPAA-compliant cloud?
Since we are run on a private Ethereum blockchain (permissioned blockchain) with encryption we fulfill HIPAA regulatory requirements on a national level.
- How do you see the storage utilization of your nodes compared to the two above projects? (this gets back to the "Why blockchain" question.)
Currently, we are working with pilots to securely transfer health information across different centralized database infrastructures.
- Why did you select Ethereum for your blockchain of choice for token issuances?
Ethereum allows us to also execute smart contracts which is a high priority for the insurance industry.
- Do you plan to engage the traditional EHR providers such as Epic to facilitate the initial data preload as well as extensions for utilizing your blockchain/database? If not, how do you expect to get patient data onto the network? From doctors/nurses? Patients? Our customers are hospitals and healthcare organizations that utilize different EMR (electronic medical record) vendors. We have APIs that currently push and pull data from Epic, Cerner, Allscripts and Meditech.