+($/7+&$5(5$',86_'(&(0%(5 43
TECHNOLOGY
- Using blockchain
technology to
record infected
person’s information
on a distributed
ledger can allow
stakeholders
conditional access
to a single source of
truth.
globally. And hence, in today’s world, it’s
not enough to only focus on vaccination
and cure but it’s equally important to do
effective reporting to control the cross
border movement.
This is a perfect use case for blockchain!
Using blockchain technology to record in-
fected person’s information on a distribut-
ed ledger can allow stakeholders in differ-
ent countries, conditional access to a single
source of truth. A patient’s health data can
be recorded on a ledger as a transaction
with a time stamped audit trail. This makes
communicable disease information more
secure (patient data is encrypted), can take
out the inefficiencies with current report-
ing practices of sending emails or some
other form of non-trusted way of report-
ing data and real time distribution of data
to research centres, quarantine facilities,
Points of Entries (POEs), etc.
A centralised system to upload infection
and infected party related data is the fast-
est and the most efficient way of report-
ing them, within and across border. But
security is a major concern for any health-
care data, especially when it’s about an
individual infected by a communicable dis-
ease. Any mistake therein can prove really
expensive. Hence any system used for this
purpose need to be highly secure. Not all
record sharing system, using the internet,
will be secure. The system might be able to
share data real time but the quality of data
may be questioned. They might become
the hackers’ target.
Blockchain technology, with its built-
in security, will be able to address these
concerns. Each relevant party can be a
node in the chain, and onboarding a node
can also be monitored and approved by
an international organisation, like WHO, in
this particular case, given the required con-
fidentiality. Blockchain technology has the
underlying trust infrastructure built in. It
doesn’t require validation by a centralised
authority. Hence it’s faster and real time.
Furthermore, blockchain also removes the
need for any intermediary, thereby reduc-
ing the cost of operations.
In fact, blockchain has been garnering
substantial attention across industries,
with VCs investing over U$1.4bn in the
technology in the past three years. The
World Economic Forum estimates 10% of
the global GDP to be stored using block-
chain by 2027.
The top five advantages of blockchain
technology are:- Greater transparency
- Enhanced security
- Improved traceability
- Increased efficiency and speed
- Reduced cost
Aren’t they all supremely important
for reporting cross-border communicable
Disease cases, a challenge the whole world
grappling with?
2
Mohua Sengupta is
EVP & Global Head
of Services with 3i
Infotech.