Improving Transitions of Care: Designing a Blockchain Application for Patient Identity Management

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Blockchain Technology
• Healthcare Systems Engineering

Background:

• Healthcare data fragmentation due to disparate electronic medical record (EMR) systems causes inefficiencies, increased costs, and administrative burden.
• Lack of interoperability hinders seamless patient care transitions between providers.
• Blockchain offers a distributed, auditable, and immutable solution for secure healthcare information exchange, respecting patient autonomy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop MediLinker, a blockchain application for patient-centric identity management.
• To address data fragmentation issues and improve the delivery of high-value care services.
• To evaluate the application's effectiveness in key transition of care tasks.

Main Methods:

• Developed MediLinker, a blockchain-based patient identity management system.
• Created 20 patient use cases simulating transitions of care across four clinics and a research institution.
• Assessed functionality including digital guardianship, data revocation, and user perceptions of comfortability and usability.

Main Results:

• MediLinker successfully completed all seven clinical scenarios across 20 use cases, demonstrating patient-centered interoperability.
• Participants could transition simulated healthcare data (e.g., COVID-19 vaccination status, medications) across sites.
• User perceptions indicated increased trust and comfort with blockchain technology through education and exposure.

Conclusions:

• MediLinker offers a viable solution to healthcare data fragmentation, improving transitions of care through timely, secure, patient-centric information sharing.
• Blockchain applications like MediLinker have the potential to enhance consistent and personalized high-value care.
• Widespread adoption requires addressing challenges in recognition, trust, and usability, necessitating further development and scaling.