If you look at it carefully, a drug prescription is a foremost thing that initiates a formal treatment. Therefore, its cruciality in any healthcare system is significantly high. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a surge in prescription fraud from a variety of actors. We will explore every potential use case in this article and then establish as to how Medical Veda aids in curbing each one of them.

Before exploring the roles of doctors, patients, and pharmacies, we must initially establish that the people who actively use narcotics are quite creative in their jobs, and they can coin a new shortcut very quickly.

One of the primary ways of executing a forgery, in this case, is to steal a genuine prescription from a patient. Not only the patient is deprived of the medication unless he revisits the doctor office, but the person with, a prescription can also use the drugs for an illegitimate purpose, without being noticed. Furthermore, since digital prescriptions are being dished out in some parts of Canada, the patient data is not entirely secure since there is no concept of blockchain in healthcare. It implies that in case of a hacking event, the details of patients using certain drugs can be extracted and then it is only a matter of time before the forgery takes place with the help of ID theft.

WHAT’S THE ROLE OF MEDICAL VEDA?

Well, we play quite a futuristic and robust role in this regard. The very first step is to implement permission control. Although it is an entirely democratic system, some decisions, like the permission controls of doctors and pharmacists, is left under the authority of government. It ensures the maintenance of check and balance. Therefore, as a primary step, the government specifies clearly as to which doctors are entitled to dish out the prescriptions and authorizes pharmacies to respond to each prescription in an appropriate manner.

Secondly, one of Medical Veda’s core features is that we have made users (i.e. patients) the actual owners of their data. Previously, when they used to upload information through any online form, they were basically ‘giving away’ the rights to 3rd parties. But that is not the case anymore and in this blockchain-based network, patients can determine the users with whom they are willing to share their information. As a result, any illegitimate or fraudulent user in the ecosystem cannot use someone else’s ID to create a fake prescription.

It is also worth noticing that we have channelized the flow of information among all stakeholders to ensure that the processes are not affected by any external communication. For instance, from the time a patient visits a doctor, receives a prescription and goes to a pharmacy to get the required drugs, a complete flow (with details of relevant actors) is recorded on the immutable ledger. Therefore, even if the patient deceives, The pharmacists would simply have to enter the prescription number in the system to determine whether the patient was indeed prescribed a drug or not.

As technology attempts to bridge multidisciplinary gaps, we have yet to see a full embrace within the healthcare sector. The way our data is processed and retrieved in Canada is so far behind other industries that often you’ll still see operating rooms using pen and paper to record procedures before filing them away in an outdated database. It’s confusing, unnecessary, inefficient, and lacks transparency.

With the utilization of blockchain technology, we can expedite the process for our healthcare professionals and empower our patients with easier access to their information.

The premise of blockchain technology is transparency, immutability, and retrieval that is smooth, secure, and fast. With Medical Veda’s implementation of blockchain, everyone involved in healthcare will benefit tremendously. As of current, for many patients who want to review their past medical history, it can be a daunting task.
Traditional methods entail research facilities utilizing data from patients and returning a self-serving profit. Medical Veda’s ecosystem ensures that those who willingly provide their information in studies will be rewarded with a portion of its profit. Patients will have a better understanding of what’s going on with their data, how it is being utilized, and at their discretion, can choose to profit off research opportunities that they can put back towards their future medical expenses.

With blockchain being a distributed ledger system, Medical Veda provides transparency between our research facilities, pharmacies, doctors, and patients. Currently, database systems are unique to each hospital system leading to an inefficient transfer of data that can be costly and time-consuming. As many centralized database systems are fragmented and difficult to navigate, data sharing is at risk of hacks and fraud. Medical Veda’s ecosystem helps everyone stays up to date on prescriptions, diagnosis, and updated patient history. This will lead to fewer malpractices, fewer instances of fraud, and a more efficient process that removes a lot of the headaches that are currently associated with healthcare.

With technology being a baseline measure of how industries improve, the utilization of Medical Veda’s ecosystem is the next big leap for the advancement of healthcare. Giving our patients control and an understanding of their medical data empowers them to make better-informed decisions about their own health as well as incentivizes them to stay involved with the progression of scientific discovery. Research institutions have direct access to necessary information in a streamlined process that is cost-effective and efficient. Healthcare professionals, in general, are all kept in the loop about updated medical history, prescriptions, and diagnosis so that everyone is better informed and can take the proper steps to prioritize patient safety.

Medical Veda is taking the initiative to put our patients first and focus on what really matters.

If you look at it carefully, a drug prescription is a foremost thing that initiates a formal treatment. Therefore, its cruciality in any healthcare system is significantly high. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a surge in prescription fraud from a variety of actors. We will explore every potential use case in this article and then establish as to how Medical Veda aids in curbing each one of them.

Before exploring the roles of doctors, patients, and pharmacies, we must initially establish that the people who actively use narcotics are quite creative in their jobs, and they can coin a new shortcut very quickly.

One of the primary ways of executing a forgery, in this case, is to steal a genuine prescription from a patient. Not only the patient is deprived of the medication unless he revisits the doctor office, but the person with, a prescription can also use the drugs for an illegitimate purpose, without being noticed. Furthermore, since digital prescriptions are being dished out in some parts of Canada, the patient data is not entirely secure since there is no concept of blockchain in healthcare. It implies that in case of a hacking event, the details of patients using certain drugs can be extracted and then it is only a matter of time before the forgery takes place with the help of ID theft.

WHAT’S THE ROLE OF MEDICAL VEDA?

Well, we play quite a futuristic and robust role in this regard. The very first step is to implement permission control. Although it is an entirely democratic system, some decisions, like the permission controls of doctors and pharmacists, is left under the authority of government. It ensures the maintenance of check and balance. Therefore, as a primary step, the government specifies clearly as to which doctors are entitled to dish out the prescriptions and authorizes pharmacies to respond to each prescription in an appropriate manner.

Secondly, one of Medical Veda’s core features is that we have made users (i.e. patients) the actual owners of their data. Previously, when they used to upload information through any online form, they were basically ‘giving away’ the rights to 3rd parties. But that is not the case anymore and in this blockchain-based network, patients can determine the users with whom they are willing to share their information. As a result, any illegitimate or fraudulent user in the ecosystem cannot use someone else’s ID to create a fake prescription.

It is also worth noticing that we have channelized the flow of information among all stakeholders to ensure that the processes are not affected by any external communication. For instance, from the time a patient visits a doctor, receives a prescription and goes to a pharmacy to get the required drugs, a complete flow (with details of relevant actors) is recorded on the immutable ledger. Therefore, even if the patient deceives, The pharmacists would simply have to enter the prescription number in the system to determine whether the patient was indeed prescribed a drug or not.

When it comes to healthcare, there are various things to consider. Even though Canada offers a pretty decent system in entire North America, there are considerable glitches when patients require immediate medical attention or diagnosis. Despite the fact that the delay is understandable in some cases, it may cost people their lives and this is where Medical Veda comes into play.

EFFICIENT AND ADVANCED DIAGNOSIS

We believe that real and advanced medical care must be provided in a hospital. However, it is always good to find out what’s really going on in the body so you can also evaluate the situation or rather the seriousness of the condition.

In order to bridge up the gap, Medical Veda provides a chatbot that harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence. For enhancing user-friendliness, we have kept it just like an ordinary chatting system so you can open it, type your query and the bot will match your symptoms and other details with a wealth of records stored on our system and tell you about the possible medical condition you might have.

It may seem insignificant, but it happens to be a major breakthrough for providing better medical care and saving lives!

Another considerable pro is that you just have to ‘chat’ like you are telling your symptoms to a doctor, thus diminishing the communication barrier as well. Please note that in order to facilitate you, the responses generated by the bot will also be presented in an easy to understand the language on your screen.

Apart from the bot system, Medical Veda would also enable you to seek online consultation with a professional doctor. Therefore, if you are not satisfied by the chatbot or you want a second opinion before visiting the hospital, you can simply avail the consultation session at a fairly reasonable price.

WHY IS AN EARLY DIAGNOSIS SO IMPORTANT?

Short answer? To get you cured.

THE SOONER THE BETTER

When we talk about the efficient provision of healthcare, time is of the essence. We have skimmed through it at the beginning of the article as well.

For instance, if a patient is suffering from Alzheimer’s, it is good to have an early diagnosis as these diseases have a higher chance of being cured when they are diagnosed and treated in their early days.

REVERSIBILITY

When you are going through some symptoms, it might be possible to treat your condition naturally, instead of waiting for weeks before the appointment. Of course, the chatbot won’t prescribe any medication, but it can certainly suggest some light exercises to handle the symptoms before your disease becomes irreversible.

WISE AND INFORMED CHOICES

It is very simple — when you do not know anything, you cannot take any step. Therefore, it is always a good idea to at least understand what is happening inside your body and what ‘might be’ the reason behind your symptoms. As a result, you can make a decision about visiting the right doctor or limiting your routine.

For instance, if the chatbot says that you might have a gallstone, you will most certainly stop consuming fats until you can see the doctor, thus enabling you to lower the probability of worsening the condition.

Before we start discussing the specifics, it is imperative to realise that a shared economy happens to be a critical requirement in pretty much every niche. It implies that various stakeholders or rather users in an industry are able to share and utilize the information, services, and goods on a P2P basis. Previously, we have seen quite futuristic implementations in this domain, but unfortunately, the Canadian healthcare sector, which happens to be quite a dense one in the World, still does not have any concept of a shared economy where users can benefit one another.

Therefore, in order to address this crucial issue, Medical Veda has created a marketplace where patients, doctors, clinics, hospitals, research market, and pharmacies will be able to interact on a blockchain-based architecture.

It is worth noticing that patients will be the primary users driving this entire marketplace as their data will be used by pretty much every other user accessing the market. Just to set the perspective here, please note that if you happen to be a registered patient on Medical Veda, you will be able to sell your data to a decent buyer (e.g. research organization) and when they buy the data, you will not only receive financial benefit, but the organization will also be able to conduct research and introduce better medications for your disease type.

At this point, it must be remembered that when you upload the information on Medical Veda’s system, it will not become available to the counter parties immediately. Parties will seek your permission and if you allow, only then the relevant parties will be able to access the information shared by you as a patient.

From the perspective of patients, our marketplace allows two streams of earning. Firstly, they receive the funds from research organizations buying the respective data and secondly, the platform also rewards them in MVEDA tokens for fueling a shared economy.

Moreover, apart from facilitating the patients, the other side of the picture is quite distinct as well. With the help of this marketplace, research organizations and pharmaceutical companies do not have to pursue complicated methods of data collection as this system removes pretty much every obstacle and the potential patients themselves provide data for research purposes. In short, Medical Veda allows them to save millions of dollars by providing efficient means of data collection.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, it is quite evident that even though we have initiated this use case in the Canadian healthcare niche, this crucial implementation is required all over the Globe. Just like Medical Veda’s marketplace, it is essential to increase collaboration between all the stakeholders in the medicare industry so that the patients can benefit and we can have robust medicines for the future, without wasting time in data collection methods.

Pretty much every developed country, including Canada, is trying to embrace the latest technologies. In this pursuit, if we move (or at least start moving) the entire Canadian Medical Sector to the blockchain, the benefits would be unimaginable.

THE PROBLEMS WITH EXISTING SYSTEM

Well, the issues are quite a lot, so let’s just explore them categorically for a better understanding.

UNWANTED RESTRICTIONS

Since traditional systems run on a centralized architecture, it is impossible for patients to have control of the data. For instance, once you have submitted your health profile to an institution, you are basically ‘locked out’ as you cannot make any changes when required. The only person with unlimited access to your data is the system administrator.

Moreover, every hospital or clinic maintains a separate database that is accessible to the respective institute only. Thus, making data sharing quite a painful task.

This data fragmentation is not only undesirable in today’s world where people value interoperability, but the patient could suffer from a life-threatening situation if data exchange is not efficient.

TIME DELAYS AND LACK OF TRANSPARENCY

Unfortunately, a lot of patients have to wait several months before getting the initial diagnosis. In most cases, it deteriorates the health, and in some cases, it may cause death even before the first diagnosis.

Furthermore, it is also seen that some clinics and hospitals are not quite transparent when it comes to admitting the patients.

HACKS AND FRAUDS

Whenever you hear the term ‘centralized’ with any digital entity, just keep in mind that such a system is prone to hacks. Same is the problem with existing EMRs, EHRs and PHRs. Since patient records are kept on a centralized database, anybody with basic hacking knowledge can bring wrath.

What’s even worse is that some people can execute prescription frauds and can also do significant damage by rolling out counterfeit drugs in the market.

HOW DOES MEDICAL VEDA OFFER A SOLUTION IN THIS REGARD?

Well, our ecosystem comes with a wealth of platforms running on some of the most futuristic and robust technologies in the industry, including blockchain, AI, ML, Big Data and many more.

However, in this section, we will focus on blockchain and all of its pros availed by Medical Veda.

A DISTRIBUTED DATA STRUCTURE

To put simply, it means that patients can retain the ultimate authority of the data and therefore, clinics, doctors, hospitals or any entity related to the healthcare niche cannot sell out this information.

Moreover, since Medical Veda is rolling out a decentralized structure, everyone will be on the same platform. Hence, the interoperability between different organizations will increase.

NO MIDDLEMEN, NO DELAYS

Since there are no middlemen in our system, you do not have to wait to get the initial analysis done. At the forefront, we have AI-based bots as well that can diagnose your illness before you even visit a doctor.

Moreover, at the time of any ‘agreement’ or ‘undertaking’ between the patient and hospital/clinic, we ensure that a smart contract is executed which keeps the digital agreement in its unaltered state. Thus, guaranteeing that no one can forge the document later on.

PROVENANCE

Our solution is decentralized and it means that there is no single point of failure. In other words, it also implies that Medical Veda is ‘unhackable’.

Apart from that, it is also worth noticing that since blockchain serves as an immutable ledger, it can keep the entire record of a drug from the time it is manufactured until the current stage. As a result, patients can always check the provenance.

If you look at it carefully, a drug prescription is a foremost thing that initiates a formal treatment. Therefore, its cruciality in any healthcare system is significantly high. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a surge in prescription fraud from a variety of actors. We will explore every potential use case in this article and then establish as to how Medical Veda aids in curbing each one of them.

Before exploring the roles of doctors, patients, and pharmacies, we must initially establish that the people who actively use narcotics are quite creative in their jobs, and they can coin a new shortcut very quickly.

One of the primary ways of executing a forgery, in this case, is to steal a genuine prescription from a patient. Not only the patient is deprived of the medication unless he revisits the doctor office, but the person with, a prescription can also use the drugs for an illegitimate purpose, without being noticed. Furthermore, since digital prescriptions are being dished out in some parts of Canada, the patient data is not entirely secure since there is no concept of blockchain in healthcare. It implies that in case of a hacking event, the details of patients using certain drugs can be extracted and then it is only a matter of time before the forgery takes place with the help of ID theft.

WHAT’S THE ROLE OF MEDICAL VEDA?

Well, we play quite a futuristic and robust role in this regard. The very first step is to implement permission control. Although it is an entirely democratic system, some decisions, like the permission controls of doctors and pharmacists, is left under the authority of government. It ensures the maintenance of check and balance. Therefore, as a primary step, the government specifies clearly as to which doctors are entitled to dish out the prescriptions and authorizes pharmacies to respond to each prescription in an appropriate manner.

Secondly, one of Medical Veda’s core features is that we have made users (i.e. patients) the actual owners of their data. Previously, when they used to upload information through any online form, they were basically ‘giving away’ the rights to 3rd parties. But that is not the case anymore and in this blockchain-based network, patients can determine the users with whom they are willing to share their information. As a result, any illegitimate or fraudulent user in the ecosystem cannot use someone else’s ID to create a fake prescription.

It is also worth noticing that we have channelized the flow of information among all stakeholders to ensure that the processes are not affected by any external communication. For instance, from the time a patient visits a doctor, receives a prescription and goes to a pharmacy to get the required drugs, a complete flow (with details of relevant actors) is recorded on the immutable ledger. Therefore, even if the patient deceives, The pharmacists would simply have to enter the prescription number in the system to determine whether the patient was indeed prescribed a drug or not.

Well, our primary aim is to bring decentralization in Canadian healthcare, to make patients the actual owners of their data. In order to connect every stakeholder in the industry, including pharmacies, patients, insurance, doctors, hospitals and government bodies, we have launched a portal that acts as an interface for using the actual blockchain.

SIMPLIFIES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RULES

Since healthcare is a dense niche and involves a lot of institutions and individuals, we cannot ignore the fact that there are plenty of rules to be followed. Furthermore, the nature of these regulations varies from one organization to another.

For instance, in typical scenarios, if your doctor prescribes MRI for any given reason, it may take several weeks before the prescription is received by the laboratory, your number comes up in a long queue, and the procedure is performed. However, in Medical Veda’s ecosystem, since we are offering dashboards to all users, everything can move around automatically and systematically, without requiring you to fill in the lengthy forms by hand.

COST REDUCTION

In Canada, hospitals and clinics usually maintain their own portals and ERPs for storing health records of the patients. These systems are technologically sophisticated and in several cases, require an on-site team to monitor their smooth running. Hence, the maintenance cost is usually higher.

However, our decentralized system is not hosted on a single PC, and you do not have to spend a significant amount on its maintenance and security. The reason is quite straightforward — Medical Veda handles all the backend operations for PHR maintenance and provides you with a portal to minimize the technical obstacles.

BETTER ANALYSIS

When you bring your reports to a doctor’s clinic, he is on a very tight schedule to explore your reports, identify the medical condition and then write a prescription. However, with Medical Veda, the doctors can see your reports and all relevant health record (with your consent) even before your arrival. Therefore, they can have ample time to perform the ‘real’ diagnosis and dish out an effective treatment.

IMPROVES PATIENT HEALTHCARE

With the help of Medical Veda’s portal, patients can be actively involved in the healthcare process, and it can increase their interest in taking better care of themselves. Since they would have direct access to the portal, they won’t have to request the hospital or anyone to view their medical records or other relevant data.

Moreover, since all of their PHR will be maintained on the portal, every patient will be able to have a track of his health.

INCENTIVES

Medical Veda’s futuristic solution comes down to one thing only — patients can have absolute control over their data and with their consent, it can be shared mutually across all the stakeholders to provide better healthcare.

Therefore, your data is what feeds our ecosystem, and if you allow data sharing on Medical Veda, we will offer rewards as well in terms of MVEDA tokens.

It is quite unfortunate that the Canadian healthcare niche is so centralized and rather outdated that firstly, it does not offer the required level of interoperability. Secondly, the patients are least considered while digitizing PHRs. In traditional systems, doctors, pharmacies and research organizations are supposed to maintain data on their own. Since all of them develop systems on different data structures, it’s almost impossible to share data through the system seamlessly.

How Does Medical Veda Offer a Perfect Feasibility?

Medical Veda does not only allow interoperability among all the stakeholders in the industry, but it makes patients the core focus of the entire feasibility.

We call it ‘patient-driven’ because ultimately, it’s your data that moves from one place to another seamlessly, instead of asking you to visit healthcare offices and present them your files.

Moreover, since a mutually acceptable system connects all of the stakeholders, the productivity of end-users is also increased as this interoperable system ensures that no time is wasted in collecting data manually from the patients. It is also worth noticing that in fragmented systems, some databases have decent security measures, while others are prone to hacks. This is where Medical Veda’s blockchain solution guarantees that the security level of the entire healthcare system is the same across Canada, and patients can also enjoy peace of mind because of this, as many people do not want to share their private data on centralized systems.

Furthermore, we have also observed that PHRs carry an immense amount of data, but since they are stored in centralized and customized solutions, it is impossible to reach an efficient collaborative system. So, with Medical Veda, all doctors and authorized research organizations can fetch the patient’s data from a decentralized (but synchronized) ledger.

It is also worth noticing that in a digital environment, everything happens automatically without taking many inputs from humans. Thus, it reduces the probability of human error where patients have to take their files from one office to another to claim insurance or visit a doctor. We know Canada is already digitalized in this sector, but what good is a centralized technology these days?

If we view this entire scenario from the aspect of drug fraud, Medical Veda’s solution is far better than anything else practised in Canada as we allow tracking of each and every drug. So basically, when the manufacturers produce an item, they just enter the data on the blockchain and it’s stored in a noneditable ledger. Since the system is decentralized and favours interoperability, this information can be seen by anyone at any stage, hence saving the patients from consuming counterfeit drugs.

Medical Veda transforms the Canadian healthcare niche by providing relevant services to each of the end-users in the industry, including doctors, patients, hospitals, clinics, research organizations, and pharmacies. With our solution, all of them are able to collaborate with each other and perform their duties much efficiently.

VEDA HEALTH PORTAL

While blockchain happens to be the core of our entire system, we do understand that it’s sophisticated to handle and none of the healthcare providers in Canada is familiar with this technology. Therefore, Medical Veda offers a portal where all the stakeholders can access their dashboards and take necessary actions (as specified under their role).

One of the major glitches it solves is that the patients can be saved from unnecessary delays and troubles. Once they upload their data through the portal, the concerned doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals can access the information which concerns them. However, it is worth noticing that as an inherent property of the blockchain, the person who uploads the sensitive data (i.e. patient) remains the ultimate owner, whatsoever.

Hence, none of the stakeholders in the healthcare niche has the liberty to claim the data uploaded by someone else, as it is being practiced nowadays in North America due to the absence of blockchain-based use cases.

MVEDA TOKEN

Well, it is our native token on the ERC20 protocol which allows us to achieve scalability on the Ethereum network. Furthermore, it also diminishes the operational costs and provides a P2P payment method.

One of the reasons why we selected the Ethereum blockchain is because it can handle large amounts of payments efficiently and since we are dealing with the healthcare niche, delays cannot be tolerated.

DATA MARKETPLACE

This is quite a futuristic use case where we imply the concept of a shared economy. Every patient has the authority to upload his personal data on this forum and then sell it to different research organizations, pharmacies, clinics, etc. It gears up their research with respect to your illness and just registering on the platform does not mean that we immediately start sharing your information. It only happens with your consent.

This marketplace does not only allow you to charge these research organizations, but you can also earn MVEDA tokens by powering our shared economy.

Apart from favoring the patients, this marketplace also reduces the hassle for research organizations. With Medial Veda’s solution, they do not have to spend thousands of dollars just trying to filter out the required information as this marketplace can provide them with the relevant patient data in a few seconds with the most cost-effective approach.

API

Our platform comes with a developer-friendly API as well. It implies that if the developers want to create 3rd party solutions and integrate our platform in order to extend the feasibility for better healthcare, they can do that without any hassle. For instance, by using our blockchain, the authorized data can be fetched from the ledger to perform deep analysis and understand the requirements of patients in order to aid the manufacturers in producing customized medical equipment.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, it is quite evident that Medical Veda is tapping the Canadian healthcare niche in order to stir the usage of blockchain technology to make the patients ‘real owners’ of their data. Furthermore, this ecosystem also elevates collaboration among a variety of industrial stakeholders and due to the nature of its API, it also facilitates 3rd party solutions, thus allowing the entire industry to grow with time and embrace the blockchain technology to reap its true benefits.

Ever since the blockchain became popular and people started realizing its extensive utility, the North American region seems quite aggressive for harnessing the power of decentralization. If we particularly talk about Canada, it is worth noticing that the taxpayers are pouring hundreds and billions of dollars every year into the healthcare niche and therefore, it is very crucial that they enjoy the pros of decentralization.

We will shed light on the importance and benefits of blockchain technology, as implemented and offered by Medical Veda.

ENSURES BETTER COORDINATION

As of yet, the Canadian Healthcare System is very fragmented (please understand that decentralization is not at all related to market fragmentation and both are entirely different). Every hospital or clinic maintains its own database, follows a different technology stack and therefore, it is quite difficult to achieve interoperability among the industry. So, this kind of centralization limits the extent of information sharing between a variety of stakeholders, thus risking the lives of patients.

However, Medical Veda offers a totally different yet robust solution. It has the potential to take every stakeholder on board, define their roles and ensure that every authorized person has access to medical records, regardless of their affiliation.

DIMINISHES LABOR COST

When it comes to labour compensation and other incentives, healthcare is a very expensive sector and the ultimate burden is thrown on ordinary taxpayers. One of the primary reasons is that nothing major has been done until now when it comes to cost reduction. Even if we look at some of the tech advancements in the Canadian healthcare industry, it is quite evident that they simply increase the labours required to operate the system/machines.

Medical Veda’s solution paves way for community-based healthcare where everything is automated and the contracts execute without requiring any human intervention. As a result, we can significantly minimize the number of labour per system while increasing the overall efficiency.

BETTER EXECUTION OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS

When it comes to healthcare, several agreements and memorandums have to be executed every day on a national scale. Earlier, we had manual systems but a couple of decades ago, everything has moved on EHRs. Even though that seems to be a better solution, there are a lot of problems and a major issue happens to be the role of intermediaries.

However, with the solution provided by Medical Veda, there is no need to have middlemen between the two parties. Whenever they (e.g. patient and doctor) have to agree on something, they can put up the details on the portal provided by Medical Veda and the system will allow automatic execution at the agreed date. Thus, there would be no delay.

“Blockchain technology is the future of …”

You’ve probably heard this a million times before, so much that it now seems like a buzz phrase. Still, it’s no secret that numerous blockchain-based projects have transformed virtually every industry known to man.

From the early days when Bitcoin remained in total obscurity (back then, 10,000 BTC could only get you two large pizzas), the blockchain space has exploded massively over the past decade. Fast forward to 2020, and it is now a fast-growing industry worth several billion dollars.

Although the finance industry seems to have benefited the most from the impact of blockchain technology, other industries like real estate, healthcare, supply chain, even media and entertainment are equally not far behind. This is even more true with the recent rise of decentralized finance (or ‘DeFi’, as it’s popularly known). Per ConsenSys, DeFi is a collective movement — a paradigm shift intended to create an open, decentralized economy where traditional financial products and services are accessible to anyone, anywhere with an internet connection.

The healthcare industry in particular has been plagued with poor handling of patient data, lack of privacy and transparency, and a huge communication gap between patients and health providers. And that’s not to mention the data brokers collecting patients’ personal information and selling it to third parties for profit. The industry has since been impacted by the blockchain revolution, and there is no doubt blockchain has helped create a distributed healthcare system aimed at improving the way patient data is handled and shared among industry players.

But it doesn’t end there…

There’s still a need to empower patients and put them back in the driving seat as regards the ownership and monetization of their medical data. More than that, the healthcare industry needs an improved lending framework to allow easy access to loans for medical procedures and other emergencies.

Thankfully, MedicalVeda provides a viable solution to these issues by intersecting blockchain, DeFi and smart contract functionality. By creating the world’s first DeFi lending protocol in the healthcare industry, we aim to help patients and healthcare professionals access a seamless lending solution for covering medical obligations.

The product of innovation and industry, MedicalVeda consists of a suite of products collectively aimed at addressing challenges in modern-day healthcare through a secure, transparent and decentralized healthcare ecosystem.

In today’s world, the spotlight on user privacy is brighter than ever, and rightly so, when you consider recent data breaches and privacy scandals which have raised serious privacy concerns. Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal is still a not-so-distant memory, Apple listens in on Siri conversations and Zoom recently came under fire for ‘Zoombombing’ and data sharing with the notorious Facebook.

In light of these events, the everyday user is increasingly wary of who they share their personal data with and how it is handled — healthcare information (i.e., patient data) is no exception. Through the blockchain-based Veda Health Portal, MedicalVeda aims to solve the privacy problem by building its decentralized database for distributed medical data which can only be accessed by authorized individuals, healthcare providers and institutions.

Users are the true and sole custodians of their medical data and, as such, decide who they share it with. Thanks to blockchain’s transparency and immutability, the Veda Health Portal also helps to prevent drug counterfeiting, prescription fraud and fragmentation of patient data.

Built on the back of the Veda Health Portal is the Veda Data Marketplace; through the Marketplace, patients can monetize their data by sharing with pharmaceuticals, clinical research institutes or healthcare marketing companies.

The data sharing process is more streamlined and transparent, as it allows users to eliminate middlemen and be in direct contact with healthcare companies interested in using their data. This enables major industry players (including patients) to benefit from an exchange of data.

According to a 2018 study published in The Lancet, more than 8.6 million people die yearly from conditions that could have been treated with good-quality health systems. Of the 8.6 million, about 5 million die from poor quality care.

Although the surveyed countries were low- and middle-income countries, the fact remains since LMICs actually represent the majority of the world’s population — 134 countries. In the US alone, one in five uninsured adults went without needed medical care due to cost in 2018.

As a cutting-edge industry, implementing decentralized finance in healthcare could help patients access quality care through medical loans. Through MedFi Veda, our open DeFi lending protocol, users can access low-interest peer-to-peer loans for healthcare purposes.

Say, a patient has to undergo a medical procedure and needs to cover their medical bills, they can access P2P loans almost immediately. In the same vein, healthcare professionals can easily access funding to expand their healthcare businesses.

Unlike traditional lending solutions, anyone can apply for a loan by providing their crypto assets as collateral. It’s noteworthy that the collateral, with the loan repayment terms, is locked in a smart contract once the loan request is approved by the lender. Consequently, the loan contract is binding and the terms cannot be retroactively modified once they’re set. In addition, borrowers are notified before the loan term expires and the repayment is automatically processed from their wallet.

With MedFi Veda, we aim to provide patients and medical practitioners with healthcare-based P2P funding at flexible interest rates and no third-party charges. Due to the P2P lending model which eliminates third parties, loans are considerably lower on MedicalVeda compared to traditional lending platforms.

It’s no longer news that there’s a need for increased transparency and security of medical data in the healthcare industry. At MedicalVeda, our goal is to give the power back to the rightful owners: patients.

We will achieve this by leveraging blockchain technology and DeFi to connect every major player in the healthcare industry with the user, effectively enabling the seamless exchange of medical data within our secure, decentralized ecosystem.

By: Amir H Neghabian