The field of healthcare has experienced a significant digital transformation, largely propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. This transformation has seen an accelerated adoption of digital health solutions like telemedicine, remote monitoring, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, there has been a notable increase in the generation and flow of health data, with expectations for this trend to persist as healthcare providers and patients become more accustomed to digital solutions.
A team of clinician innovators from SingHealth has recognized the growing need for privacy-preserving solutions in managing health data, empowering patients to take greater ownership of their health and enhancing the applications of data for medical research and clinical care. In an editorial piece published in the journal Nature Medicine, the team explores the potential use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a revolutionary solution for data exchange in healthcare.
NFTs are unique digital data units stored on the blockchain, representing irreplaceable assets that can be traded. Similar to how commercial NFTs are traded today, health data can be minted, exchanged, and stored using blockchain technology, offering features of uniqueness, transparency, and interoperability. This approach allows patients to own their personal health data and exchange it as digital assets using blockchain technology. Each patient can manage and share their health data in the form of NFTs through a secure web-based or smartphone application, ensuring accessibility, security, and privacy.
The key distinction from existing commercial NFT marketplaces lies in the ability to program the health data ledger to disallow public viewing. Patients can grant access and permit viewing of their health data only when necessary, preserving their privacy. This approach aims to empower patients, improve care outcomes, and foster a closer relationship between healthcare providers and patients.
Moreover, patient ownership of health data can contribute to greater fluidity in healthcare information. Shifting the responsibility of sharing individual patient data to each patient may lead to a more collaborative relationship between healthcare providers and patients. Additionally, the use of NFTs ensures data authenticity, as every piece of data is owned by patients, and unauthorized access can be mitigated through permission-based sharing.
The team envisions the potential application of blockchain and NFT technology to other areas of healthcare, such as pharmaceuticals, where drug production and supply chains can be tracked and verified. Despite the challenges and considerations associated with adopting this technology in healthcare, the team sees exciting potential benefits and a paradigm shift in patient care and healthcare research as digital technologies continue to evolve and gain broader utilization.
