One of the co-founders of the Ethereum Blockchain, Joe Lubin, recently stated that if Bitcoin was the first killer app for blockchain then Ethereum is like the app store. The point he makes is interesting because it addresses the lesser-known fact that blockchain technology, while first designed to facilitate and track the peer-to-peer exchange of cryptocurrency, actually has many other potential applications and use cases outside of finance and payments.

When it comes to healthcare, blockchain has some key properties which make it well-suited to fix some of the current challenges of our creaking healthcare systems — including greater transparency, the ability to share data securely and the ability to bring disparate players in a complex system together in a way that encourages greater co-operation rather than putting up barriers.

There are already many different players in the blockchain and healthcare field working on everything from increasing transparency in clinical trials to securing the pharmaceutical supply chain, or sharing medical data, or improving management of insurance claims, to name just a few examples. This wealth of innovative activity deserves to be harnessed.

Solve.Care is trying to bring the many different players in healthcare together through the creation of a dedicated care community. This community would have access to an enhanced level of healthcare data — shared securely and with the permission of the participants. Having access to such data for the first time brings new opportunities to innovate. Solve.Care envisages this a bit like a digital wallet for healthcare — or you could call it an intelligent app store for healthcare.

In your current wallet or purse right now you probably have a range of cards for different purposes — credit and debit cards, of course, but also store loyalty cards and membership cards for the gym or the library. Imagine if you had the same type of service for healthcare. Your healthcare wallet would give you access to a range of applications — so-called ‘care cards’- that you could choose from, each offering different services.

These cards could show up ‘intelligently’ based on what they know about your healthcare. If you were diabetic and wanting to manage your blood sugar more effectively, a card might show up offering you the choice to use that service to help you monitor your condition. Or if you needed regular prescriptions perhaps a delivery card would pop up giving you the option of a repeat delivery service to your home or office and reminding you that your medication is about to run out.

The idea of care community — linked by quality healthcare data, combined with healthcare providers and medical experts and a range of innovative businesses and charities looking to offer services — is a potent combination that offers the chance for huge social and medical progress.

By Helen Disney