HealthTAG : Decentralized Health Care, empowering Well-being Countrywide

In the context of Thailand and many countries in the ASEAN region, the issue of fragmented health data storage is often encountered, with data spread across healthcare institutions at various levels, ranging from primary care to tertiary care. Additionally, the lack of efficient data interoperability further compounds this problem. This situation arises from the lack of widespread adoption of standardized health data exchange regulations, resulting in varied formats of health data storage and difficulty in exchanging, and utilization data in the most effective way to support better healthcare. and with lack of interoperability lead discontinuous of care, reactive healthcare, and utilization data in the most effective way to support better healthcare.

Hence, the emergence of utilizing blockchain technology aims to address this by establishing a Decentralized Healthcare Data Network. This network ensures continuous healthcare management across all levels of healthcare institutions. It starts by addressing the problem of health data by utilizing the HL7 FHIR standard for medical data exchange, which integrates with existing hospital information systems without disruption. This is facilitated by deploying FHIR Servers or data storage systems that transform and align data with the FHIR standard of each institution. This approach ensures a nationwide network of health data nodes, while maintaining a high level of security and verification through blockchain technology.

Furthermore, this large-scale health data network can also be harnessed for governmental policy planning. If patients, as data owners, provide consent to use their anonymized data, a substantial volume of data can be analyzed to budget healthcare for different demographic groups, age ranges, and develop healthcare strategies for the population.

Healthtag’s goal is to make patient’s experience of data transfer seamless and return the authority back to its true owner to ultimately create a harmonized healthcare ecosystem and be ready for the next healthcare technology breakthrough.

Healthcare 3.0 Infrastructure

The blockchain technology is an integral component to unlock the gateway of healthcare innovation. Its value proposition to store and disseminate sensitive information with transparency and security is an important part to move data ownership from centralized to decentralized. In the present, patient health record is still be stored in a centralized manner in healthcare institutions such as hospitals, clinics, etc. Blockchain technology will not only enhance the standard of medical care for patients, but it will also solve the pressing problems of repeated medications and vaccinations, as well as provide access to critical medical information in times of emergency to reduce unnecessary deaths from drug interactions and drug allergy for ER patients.

Healthcare Decentralized Application for Patients

The patients will have full authority over where their health information is shared while always having control over the grant or termination of their personal health record transfer. Through the decentralized application (dApp), users can access their single platform of health data that collects and synthesize user’s health information. e.g. (IoT portal, DNA aggregation data, Self-report, AI, Telemedicine.

Data standardization
In collaboration with the blockchain technology, data set standardization is also an important aspect of interoperability between blockchain nodes. HL7 FHIR is a widely accepted format for health data internationally which put healthcare institutions in a position ready for integration with international standards. It will provide speed and seamlessness for file transfer with the elimination of the necessity for file format change, a redundant step that increases gap for security threat.

Solution Values: Bring a solution for all and drive a truly future of sustainable healthcare. 

HealthTAG stands as a MedTech initiative that originates from the expertise, ideas, and real work of medical professionals within the Thai public healthcare system. They aim to establish a Decentralized Healthcare model to reduce patient numbers at healthcare institutions and elevate the quality of public healthcare services. This approach connects medical practices without a central hub, placing patients at the center. The benefits for stakeholders are categorized as follows:

Improving the well-being of the Thai Population:  quality of life improves through comprehensive healthcare services. The Decentralized Healthcare system enhances accurate diagnostics and personalized treatment plans, reducing treatment errors, providing continuous care, minimizing data fragmentation, and empowering patients with their health data. This enables efficient self-management and decision-making, saving time and costs. The innovation caters to all age groups and vulnerable demographics, including the elderly, children, and people with disabilities.

Efficiency of medical services provided by hospitals and medical staff: Eliminating redundancies, reducing paperwork, and ensuring more complete patient data results in precise treatment, reduced errors, increased focus on care, and improved efficiency. This leads to more effective patient care and greater success.

Ministries and Public Health Organizations: Databases for tracking diseases, interventions, and public health planning are established, promoting preparedness for health challenges, and creating true well-being.

Government: Direct health policies are possible. Decentralized Healthcare fosters databases that align with health policies, allocating resources based on real data. This addresses public health issues, enhancing population well-being, and reducing government costs related to addressing health problems.

Research Institutions: Decentralized Healthcare encourages and advances medical research, refining treatment methods, enhancing efficiency, and improving patient quality of life. This also promotes the development of medical technology.

ASEAN & Global Countries: With international health data standards, data can be linked between ASEAN countries. Consent-based health data usage for research and innovation is possible, utilizing demographic data from the ASEAN population as a foundation. This prevents possible inaccuracies stemming from foreign-developed technologies based on non-local data, such as using AI algorithms developed from images of European or American populations.”