China Is Establishing an Internet Hospital to Minimize Physical Contacts

First internet hospital will be launched in China in early 2021. The institution is going to apply blockchain technology and provide internet medical service using WeChat app.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University decided to set up an internet branch to minimize the necessity for physical contacts and protect its patients against COVID-19 as well as other diseases.

To record and store patients’ information, the hospital plans to adopt a blockchain-based solution due to its transparency and security. As Niu Tie, the director of the hospital, stated to a local news outlet, “blockchain will belong to the back-end part and become the data security technology for hospitals.”

However, some government officials expressed concern about such a database as it might prompt the strengthening of mass-surveillance over the country’s citizens, which is quite a common practice for the communist republic. For this reason, Chinese Ministry of Information is going to further explore and test the solution before actually implementing it for the hospital.

Blockchain to improve healthcare

Despite the lack of research and possible issues, it seems obvious that blockchain is able to benefit healthcare just like any other industry. Its use cases go beyond recording and storing data. 

Owing to the tech’s decentralized, transparent and traceable nature, it is able to optimize the supply chain and ensure the authenticity and quality of medicines, which is of critical importance for the industry. 

According to the report by CoinIdol, a world blockchain news outlet, the industry has issues with counterfeit medicines and protective equipment. Back in April, several countries including Australia exposed and turned down a big party of counterfeit and low quality protective equipment such as masks and respirators.

Blockchain solutions allow for tracking goods all the way from the choice of raw materials used to the shelf in a pharmacy. Thus, it is very difficult to push counterfeit or low quality goods in the market. In healthcare, where human lives often depend on the quality of goods and equipment, such solutions may become one of the most critical innovations in history.