Web3 healthcare, also known as healthcare 3.0 or decentralized healthcare, uses blockchain technology and other decentralized technologies to transform the healthcare industry.
Web3 healthcare applications include:
- Creation of a secure and decentralized patient health record
- Improvement of supply chain management for medical devices and drugs
- Enhancement of clinical trials using smart contracts
Web3 allows you to be directly involved with your healthcare and has several benefits.
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Improved Data Security
In Web3 healthcare, patients can control their data and choose who can access it. They can share data with healthcare providers or researchers securely and privately without worrying about their data being misused or stolen.
Here are other ways by which Healthcare 3.0 has improved data security.
- Web3 healthcare stores data in a decentralized network (blockchain). No central authority controls the data. Anyone who needs to change the data must have a network consensus of multiple nodes. The data is less vulnerable to hacking, breaches, and other threats.
- Records added to the blockchain are immutable. Web3 provides a high level of assurance that patients’ data is tamper-proof. If somebody made a change, the system would easily trace it.
- Smart contracts reduce the risks of fraud and errors. Self-executing smart contracts automate healthcare processes, such as insurance claims processing or prescription management. They have terms of agreement between buyer and seller directly written into lines of code. It ensures that contract terms are transparent, secure, and tamper-proof.
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Greater Data Transparency
With Web3 healthcare, patients can also track who is accessing their data, when it is accessed, and for what purpose.
Web3 promotes secure sharing by enabling patients to grant or revoke access to their medical records on a need-to-know basis.
Web3 also facilitates more collaborative and efficient healthcare practices among providers. Medical data is securely shared amongst providers, allowing them to collaborate on treatment plans. It reduces test and procedure duplication, improves diagnosis accuracy, and improves patient outcomes.
Finally, Web3 aids better data analytics. Web3 healthcare provides insights into disease patterns, treatment effectiveness, and other critical healthcare metrics, which inform decision-making and improve patient outcomes using distributed computing tools and blockchain-based data analytics platforms.
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Increased Interoperability
As Web3 allows patients the creation of decentralized electronic health records (EHRs) and gives complete control over their medical data, Web3 healthcare providers communicate and share data, leading to more coordinated and effective patient care that increases interoperability.
Web3 healthcare solutions, records, and information can be created using interoperability standards, such as FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) and HL7 (Health Level Seven International).
Smart contracts (mentioned above) also increase interoperability and reduce administrative burdens. Web3 can create healthcare marketplaces where patients can access healthcare services from different providers.
Using smart contracts and blockchain-based payment systems with interoperability standards enables seamless and secure transactions and exchange of health information among patients, different healthcare systems, and providers.
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Faster and More Accurate Diagnoses
Benefit from improved patient outcomes due to faster and more accurate diagnoses. Web3 healthcare can analyze patient data in real-time using advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Data sharing, interoperability, and decentralized healthcare systems facilitate faster and more accurate diagnoses. First, data sharing gives healthcare providers access to the patient’s EHR, regardless of where the patient received care.
Second, the interoperability among healthcare systems and devices integrates the medical data and improves diagnosis accuracy, ensuring that relevant medical information is available to support the diagnostic process.
Finally, decentralization empowers patients to be more directly involved in their care, thus, receiving personalized and accurate diagnoses through complete data control.
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Reduced Healthcare Costs
Web3 healthcare reduces healthcare costs by eliminating system inefficiencies, reducing administrative fees, and improving patient outcomes.
Blockchain data management securely and efficiently reduces administrative costs associated with data management, such as manual data entry, storage, and sharing.
The immutability and transparency reduce fraudulent activities such as insurance fraud or false billing.
Interoperability in Web3 healthcare reduces duplication of tests and procedures that leads to additional and unnecessary costs to patients.
Decentralized healthcare systems operate on a peer-to-peer network, thus, lowering the need for intermediaries in healthcare transactions and cutting costs.
Web3 healthcare doesn’t only facilitate payment but also tokenizes healthcare services. It incentivizes healthy behaviors, increasing efficiency and cost savings.
Take Control of Your Healthcare
Web3 healthcare offers several benefits, and JennyCo has empowering solutions for taking control of your own healthcare.
