Evolution of Medical Records: From Paper to Blocks

Between history, the present, and future visions, a lot has changed. Thanks to technology, it granted us an easy, convenient, private, and affordable lifestyle. And our health is no different. Updating the health ecosystem and backing it up with reliable technology is a must. There are many current advancements compared to the past. And yet, we need more to move forward. Here emerges the importance of blockchain to help patients worldwide and save lives.

History: Background of Medical Records

Paper-Based Medical Records

Healthcare professionals like doctors or clinicians create medical records for their patients. And as the name implies, they used to save these records with physical means such as paper or disks. They stored or archived them in physical facilities to retrieve them when needed. Such documents are vital to diagnosing and tracking a patient’s health. They contain data like symptoms showing on the patient or allergies. They also include medications, observations of the medical staff, laboratory results, and diagnosis. Some clinicians state the results of their discussions with the patients too. To respect the laws of each country, these files follow certain medical methodologies. Medical records interfere in the prevention, care, and cure of diseases. Studying them contributes to the success of medical research. And the outcomes can benefit people and save lives.

Problems of Traditional Methods

How much do individuals need to consult a doctor in their lifetime? Or how many times do we decide to consult another doctor or transfer to another institution? And here the struggle of transferring our medical records pops up. This is one huge setback along with others. Imagine how many patients there are, thus the huge pile of medical records. This requires, with no doubt, large physical storage spaces. Are all these spaces available? There’s yet another challenge. It’s retrieving those records or transferring them from one provider to another. This alone needs a large number of staff! Set all this aside… the physical nature of these records creates a great danger to their safety. Natural disasters or harmful intentions may lead to data loss or disruption that can’t be undone. We can’t also forget efficiency limitations, costs and environmental unfriendliness.

Present: State of Medical Records Today

A Need for Change

The complexities of traditional systems and paper-based medical records have strained healthcare professionals. It added tiresome duties to their already hard mission. Besides the higher probability of mistakes that can lead to risky results. This left us the option of following the trend and using technology in the healthcare sector. Medical records needed the transition to an electronic-based system… An opportunity to reduce medical errors, save costs and have more efficient processes. That’s why health technology introduced us to the EHR system.

What Does EHR Stand for?

EHR stands for Electronic Health Records. It has been an adopted strategy in many countries and regions to replace paper-based work. An EHR system works by documenting the health records and data of a patient on computer software. Developers can install the program on local office computers or via the cloud. It has great potential. It improves quality, productivity, and efficiency in the health care service system. It reduces errors and increases patient safety. Unlike paper records, there won’t be a problem in misinterpreting handwritten info. Back then, that issue led to patients receiving the wrong medications.

What is a Cloud-Based EHR?

Electronic systems can be client-server or cloud-based. A client-server system is usually installed on local computers. To be more specific, on the computers of the staff who need to use the EHR software system. This usually requires more hardware. It needs a server and the installation of the software on all offices’ computers. Instead of that, health corporations may choose to use cloud-based EHR systems. Such systems need an internet-enabled computer only. Storage of data is virtual on external servers rather than local computers. And users can access data via the web. This system reduces the costs of software implementation. Institutions implementing cloud-based systems pay monthly fees like a utility bill. This bill relieves companies of installation fees, licensing, maintenance costs, updates and patches.

Somehow EHR Still Fails Us

EHR has advanced the traditional way of paper-based records. And although it improved data safety in many areas, it still fails to live up to our expectations. Many members of the medical staff reported that EHRs still cause them much time for data entry. Others faced issues with poor quality documentation and incompatibilities between different systems. EHR systems have also introduced new risks. Many participants misused them which affected how well the system performed. Besides, there are many shortcomings to EHR systems. Kaiser Health News and Fortune detailed those in “Death by 1,000 clicks: where electronic health records went wrong” (Fred Schulte, 2019). They reported many risky errors. An example of that was a software bug found in a famous EHR system. The system is currently used in the U.S by 850,000 health professionals. The discovered bug had put many patients at risk and led to the death of one citizen.

Future: The Power of Blockchain

Blockchain in A Glance

Blockchain technology is booming nowadays. It has become popular for its role in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Yet, it isn’t only intended for that purpose. Blockchain goes far beyond that as it changes how we store data and how we know businesses. It is a distributed digital ledger for transactions. Its aim is to decentralize data and not rely on third-party intermediaries. It replaces middlemen with mathematics. This reduces costs for companies and individuals when trading assets in a secure way. In a blockchain, payment processes are transparent and secure. All records are immutable and traceable, where each record creates a new block. And each new block strengthens the previous one by hashing. All blocks together create an irreversible chain. A chain where no one can alter or delete transactions once recorded.

Is my Medical Record Private?

Privacy remains a vital concern for everyone. That’s why we see many patients fearing the use of blockchain for medical records. Don’t get distracted by the term ‘public’ network. Privacy remains a special advantage in blockchain technology. Its cryptographic techniques enforce the integrity of the health data on it. Encryptions and keys also play a huge role in the accessibility of data. They ensure that individuals have control over their medical records. The case is the opposite in modern EHR systems where third parties exist. These parties can have access to patients’ data without consent from patients. An example of those is insurance companies or dark commercials.

Who Has Access to my Medical Records?

Medical teams can always rest assured that what they learn about a patient is both accurate and up to date. On a blockchain, an update to a health record notifies the whole blockchain. That doesn’t prevent users from wondering who can have access to their medical records. Luckily for us, blockchain can’t put our hopes down with its cryptographic methods. End-users can access their health data and medical records. They choose who can have access to them thus giving them full control over their records. Patients can also grant access to specific data while keeping other parts secure. They can even limit how long a given person or party has access to particular data.

Blockchain and Health Combined in Real-Life

Current systems face many problems as they are unreliable, fragmented, or outdated. After the Covid19 pandemic, reports also indicated a widespread distrust in medical institutions. For that, the healthcare sector needs to utilize the power of blockchain technology. We should all take into consideration the advancements it can add and the risks it can delete! dHealth Network has grown famous by deploying a new vaccine tracking project. It went viral under the slogan “We track viruses, not people”. This Swiss foundation aims to the growth of the global health ecosystem. It harnesses an invisible hero called blockchain. Its vision is to make patients regain faith in their practitioners. End users can now store their data and records on an efficient, immutable, easy to access, and real-time blockchain. dHealth Network also has its own currency. It even has a wallet and many deployed projects dedicated to the healthcare sector.