Can the healthcare blockchain be used to aggregate the different data stores patient data may live on? [Jared Adams]
September 7, 2016

Dr. Jared Adam’s Challenge

Dr. Jared Adams, MD, PhD is a physician, health policy doctorate, and computer programmer. Throughout his academic career at Yale, Dartmouth, and UCSF, Dr. Adams has worked to solve problems around patient-provider communication, engagement, and informed medical decision-making. He is currently Chief Medical Officer and Director of Research and Innovation at Self Care Catalysts, a patient centric analytics company.

Problem Statement

In order to acquire real world evidence that can aid in the personalization of care, data from many sources must be brought together. Can the healthcare blockchain be used as a platform to aggregate the many different data stores patient data may live on?

Why This Is Important

Healthcare data is notoriously difficult to analyze because it is often incomplete, complex, and much of the data is stored in multiple data siloes that don’t communicate, such as EMRs, radiology, pharmacy, patient support programs, patient registries, self-care apps, etc. and in multiple formats, both structured and unstructured. Furthermore, inconsistent definitions make linking and combining the data complicated. The first part of the problem involves making the data accessible while respecting privacy, security, and patient control through the blockchain. The later part of the problem requires combining the data to enable research and analysis.

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