When we talk about the benefits of blockchain in an ecosystem, the health sector is rarely considered among the first options, but yes, the health sector is one of the main entities that benefit from blockchain and tokenization. Everyone, without exception, patients, doctors, laboratories, are benefited by this technology that is bursting more and more strongly to establish itself as a solution to the multiple drawbacks presented by this system. Here are a few examples.
Patients
You go to a medical consultation, the doctor creates a medical history with your data, history, complaints, etc.. In turn, if the study requires more tests or some specialists, you must visit each of them as indicated, in each case the doctor or health care center must record it (create a new medical history) because it is your first medical visit. Fortunately, you got better and for a while you do not need to visit a medical center. If for some reason (as most of us do), you need to make a new visit in the future, perhaps even with a new specialist, because your new ailment is of a different nature, you will need to create a new medical record with this new specialist. You will inform him about your past visit to a colleague, you may not remember the exact date or all the symptoms or tests performed, let alone the exact results of them, so you may have to go back to your initial doctor to be informed about this history. Quite a hassle, isn't it? Having to go through this process every so often, when required (unless you always consult with the same doctor, at the same health center and your medical history is the same).
Well, for all this, the solution is blockchain... How? Imagine an initial visit to a health center that uses blockchain technology for its patients. This medical center creates a unique and indivisible record on the blockchain where all their data and medical history will always be in the ecosystem and will be portable and visible to anyone you allow, through the use of cryptographic keys and permissions. When you visit a different doctor or health center (as long as they use blockchain, of course), they will be able to see your medical history without further consultation, since everything is recorded and accessible in detail. No matter what the medical center or country, your medical history will always be at your fingertips.
Doctors and health centers
Now that we know that as patients, blockchain is feasible and very beneficial, let's look at what concerns the physician and healthcare facilities. The histories of all your patients are securely and cryptographically hosted, so they are always within reach for consultation; in an agile and practical way, in the face of an emergency you have your medical history and know in detail what treatment to apply. Similarly, the tokenization of healthcare allows the doctor-patient-health center relationship to be agile, as well as having payment methods that speed up the time and tax burden. You can even pay for the same value in another country by having a token that is in the ecosystem for an already known value. Another great advantage.
Conclusion
All this is but a taste of all the great benefits of blockchain and tokenization in the medical field; it only remains to hope that companies in the health sector (as they are already doing) begin to invest and believe in this technology that many contributions and achievements can give. Let's hope so for the well-being and health of all.
Irving Arrieta