Blockchain transforms the edges of industries: Part II
Doctors and Patients uncover medication secrets
The waiting room was full. Dr. Cramer was busy managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels for many of his patients. This week however, was unusual. Two or three patients had commented on an unexpected side effect. They described unwanted hair growth and each had been suspicious that their blood pressure medication was to blame. Remarkable! Dr. Cramer wistfully imagined a future when medical treatments might reliably grow new hair to cover his own bald patches.
You may have guessed the rest. Medical science is indeed sprinkled with happy accidents.
In this example, Minoxidil, a drug once offered for reducing blood pressure, resulted in unwanted hair growth prompting patients to stop using the medication. However, news of this ‘hair problem’ reached the Pharmaceutical community and soon the topical form of Minoxidil, Rogaine was launched providing an innovative hair loss treatment for consumers and a business windfall for industry. Patients and doctors responsible for the initial intelligence were largely left out of the financial windfall but this may be about to change.
Capturing a patient’s experience with medication, both good and bad, can provide the real world evidence extending our understanding in ways that elude typical pre-determined research pathways. For this reason, Phase IV studies which happen after a drug is available to the general public are so important and the only way to understand a drug’s performance in real life scenarios. However, post marketing surveillance is burdened by cost and complexity. As a result, many valuable health experiences fail to inform future health innovation.
Until recently that is…MyIRE is a blockchain-based solution that simplifies this process of tracking patient experiences dramatically. Soon doctors will have simple ways to work with their patients in gathering and organizing a valuable and shared resource: the data that exposes real world experience with many medications. The economic benefit to both parties is expected to be significant.
Research clinical trials are commonly listed among the practical uses for blockchain in healthcare. This may be prompted in part because current data management approaches, which often involve multiple clinical centers, currently use a patchwork of technologies with little ability to interoperate. The result significantly impairs reproducibility of clinical study findings. This brings into question the reliability of such findings in the first place. Widespread problems with reproducibility has plagued health intelligence since the dawn of the scientific method and is well covered in this white paper. Phase IV studies, the outer edge of clinical research, may well be one of the first areas to successfully leverage the data management properties inherent in blockchain. At this edge, the stakeholders, patients and physicians, may be exceptionally well aligned.
Connecting Dr. Cramer and his patients in the co-production of prudent medical intelligence may provide a wide range of benefits. Patient engagement, medication compliance, lifestyle optimization as well as significant economic benefit for both parties.
Partnerships aimed at exposing real-world health experiences will help ensure medical intelligence advances at the pace of change. Thanks to blockchain-based approaches, the next Rogaine will no longer be left to chance.
