HEALTHCARE BLOCKCHAIN STARTUP IRYO AIMS TO DISRUPT MEDICAL DATA OWNERSHIP BY GIVING FULL CONTROL TO THE PATIENT

Ljubljana, Slovenia – Iryo, a new blockchain startup creating a globally participatory healthcare network will soon provide a modern electronic health record system for refugee camps in the Middle East as their first real-world use case.

All across the world, patients currently have little or no control in regards to how they interact with their medical records. A patient may have to see multiple specialists and carry around paper copies of his records as they travel from one healthcare provider to the next. Medical information is one of the most sensitive forms of data, not only publicly, but also when it comes to high-profile individuals, governing individuals, professionals, etc. However, not only do patients lack easy access to their data they also don’t have a say in how the data is used. At the moment, the patient is entirely left out of the equation of medical data monetization. The data is locked in hospitals and healthcare IT systems, and it’s either the hospitals or the healthcare providers that directly use this data to create new solutions that bring profit.

Iryo is redefining the concept of medical records, aiming to transform them into something similar to digital bearer instruments. The company is naming this concept the Bearer Healthcare Record – a healthcare record independent of identity, always available to the patient, enhanced by permission controls and encryption.

Most healthcare blockchain startups are an on-top solution connecting existing systems. With this approach, you run into the same interoperability problems caused by differences in primary data recording structure. For this reason, Iryo uses the openEHR standard for medical data recording. The Iryo protocol is building on EOS, and the startup strives to be one of first ICOs on EOS.

One of the critical differentiators of Iryo compared to other players on the market is the focus on developing countries first, actively working in the Middle East with the first product expected to be deployed in May.

Iryo is partnering with an NGO called, the Walk With Me organization to provide the IT infrastructure needed to improve the quality of healthcare provided within camps managed by the organization which is spread throughout the Middle East. Iryo will enable patients and their families to securely store their medical records on their own mobile device. The first version of the Iryo platform will be deployed in refugee camps located throughout the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon in May, soon followed by other countries including Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Djibouti.

Alongside, the company works with a Slovenian private insurance company Adriatic Slovenica to offer patients in the local environment efficient and safer access to their health records.

About Iryo: Iryo is a participatory blockchain driven healthcare network creating a medical AI and big-data research platform. The Iryo protocol is built for decentralizing access to medical data and making the patient the main decision maker around who can access and use their data. One of the most important aspects of the protocol is zero-knowledge encryption of data, which is resistant to state-sponsored attacks and any form of manipulation from insiders. Additionally, the Iryo protocol is open-sourced and permissionless to enable developers to build their solutions upon it.

For more information, all interested parties can visit iryo.io or message info@iryo.io.

Disclaimer: This article should not be used as investment or financial trading advice. Please conduct careful due diligence before investing in any digital asset.