Digitization and smart technology present unique challenges and opportunities for the healthcare industry as a whole. With an increasing number of patients using smart devices and medical websites to help make crucial health decisions, the medical profession finds itself needing to innovate to keep up. Swiss company SANA has discovered a way to bridge the gap using blockchain technology.

When you think of Switzerland and technological innovation, two things may well come to mind: healthcare and watches. If so, it probably comes as no surprise that Swiss company SANA should be the one to come up with an innovative way to combine the two. SANA allows patients to take their medical history with them using blockchain encoded files. Patients can also use smart devices to update those secure histories with current information such as heart rate and exercise levels on the go.

Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, SANA’s board includes technology and blockchain experts with an interest in using these technologies to revolutionize the healthcare industry. Technologies currently in development include the Health Watch, SANA Box, and a monitoring system designed to track and store vital health statistics on each patient. Their proprietary platform allows businesses to access total medical histories and track patients over time, streamlining payment and insurance as well as facilitating care. 

Solution

Smart technology continues to provide opportunities and risks to the healthcare industry. On one hand, patients can now track everything from diet to exercise levels in one easy place using smart watches and mobile phones. On the other hand, key confidential data often remains elusive – and for good reason. For obvious security reasons, not just anyone should be able to see such vital health statistics. How then can doctors and others with a legitimate interest in knowing these facts receive accurate, real-time data? And on the other side how can patients then access their own medical information in a convenient place?

SANA bridges this divide using blockchain technology’s unique ability to make data public while keeping it encrypted, so that only people with recognized access can see it. Blockchain encryption secures the data and fixes it in place, so that no one can alter it later. SANA then places this data on a shared platform that healthcare providers can choose to opt-in to. Even once they’ve opted in, only the patient can then authorize a specific provider to access their information. Once a patient’s authorized provider has access, they can then view the patient’s thorough medical history including recent updates from attached smart devices.

Target Market

Because the SANA platform works on all levels of the healthcare industry, the technology offers unique advantages to all segments.

Patients

First and foremost, SANA provides the framework for a patient-centered approach to healthcare. By giving patients access to their own encrypted medical file, SANA allows patients to change providers on the go without having to worry about medical records getting lost or misfiled on the way. Once they find a provider in the SANA network, all they have to do is give permission to access their online record and it’s done – all there.

Healthcare Providers

From the position of healthcare providers, SANA first gives all the benefits of making healthcare more patient-centered and therefore allowing them to remain competitive. In addition, SANA allows healthcare providers from pharmacies to hospitals to make sure that they have the right patient and that they are providing the correct treatment for this patient. For example, pharmacies often dispense highly-controlled substances with a responsibility to ensure that only legitimate patients receive them. SANA software makes it easier to track pharmaceuticals, to see who received them, and that this person had a legitimate medical need for the substance.

Health Insurance Claims

Finally, the SANA platform makes it easier to track and verify insurance claims by giving insurers access to a legitimate medical record showing a patient’s total medical history. This way, insurers can help prevent fraud and better track what patients need what kind of procedures when.

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Source: https://blockchainhealthcarereview.com/sana-patient-distributed-healthcare-for-all/