We have already discussed provider’s payments and cross-border care benefits of Global Telehealth Exchange, in our series. GTHE is a game changer for the healthcare industry. With GTHE you will be able to provide healthcare to patients on your terms, worldwide.
There will be no limits to whom you provide care to (where local laws permit) or how much you charge. However, as with anything done online or digitally, the question of safeguarding data security is only natural, especially when talking about the scale of healthcare delivery. We are after all talking about highly sensitive and detailed private health information of patients.
We’re certainly far away from the traditional method of keeping paper files locked in metal cabinets. In today’s digital and highly technological world, managing and securing these same medical records come with a totally different set of challenges. One of the main concerns regarding telehealth is the safety and ownership of a patient’s health and information record. Who will have ownership and where will the data be stored? Can this system be hacked and if so, what would be the consequence and how many people might be affected? And more importantly, who is legally responsible for securing and controlling this data?
Current telehealth platforms keep patient records on one single database. They offer a centralized platform to manage many datasets. This needlessly exposes the patient as well as the provider to all sorts of possible security issues. A centralized platform can make it easier for hacking and affects all the records stored, not just one. To make matters more challenging, as a healthcare provider, you may be held responsible and liable for the safekeeping of patients’ records, even though you may not have control over them.
Doctors, hospitals, and their vendors, are not only responsible for patient records but they are also responsible for their employees’ private information. If a breech or hacking takes place, the provider or healthcare professional charged with caring for data will be responsible and could be fined for negligence. If these current systems are hacked, they will expose, not just all patient records, but also all valuable information on other healthcare providers within that system. This then opens opportunities for misdiagnosis and identity theft. Faces of Digital Health recently interviewed, identity theft victim, Dr. Leah Houston for their podcast. She explains how her details were hacked from hospital records and the problems she faced as a result.
Who owns patient data and how can Global Telehealth Exchange protect you and your patient’s private information?
GTHE eliminates unwanted data monitoring and interference without consent. It gives your patient complete control and ownership of their own data and takes the pressure off you, the provider, to secure and manage multiple sets of records. GTHE has an off-chain medical record management capability which is built on blockchain technology. This means it’s a highly secure decentralized platform that actively manages each and every patient’s individual records, in real time.
Medical data and personal information records are not stored on-chain. They are stored off-chain, but linked to the events on the chain. The information is either only on the doctor’s or patient’s account. There is no centralized storage. GTHE’s record management system has a very advanced peer-to-peer architecture. Records are encrypted for the appropriate user and only that user has the key to share, control and audit.
When you sign up to GTHE, you will be provided with an identification number called the Global Telehealth ID (GTHE ID). Your ID will also help patients find you more easily. They simply download the Care.Wallet mobile app to access the GTHE and sign up. They can then use your GTHE ID to locate you on the Global Telehealth Exchange and connect with you, that way. Or you can send them an invitation to sign up. Within this app they can control who sees what information and who is asking for information, such as a medical referral that you requested. They can also revoke permissions they’ve previously given, within the Care.Wallet.
The information pertaining to that individual patient is kept within their Care.Wallet and only shared with you, the provider, or whomever the patient decides to share it with. This system has two points of security for the patient, which are:
- Their smart device containing the Care.Wallet app
- Their Care.Wallet app
There is no other way to access the patient’s information. If by miracle chance, their phone and Care.Wallet are hacked, the only information that hacker will have access to is that individual patient’s records.
The GTHE security and operating functions are built to meet HIPAA Rules. HIPAA is considered to have the highest standards, in the world, when it comes to protecting patient’s confidential information while healthcare technologies change and adapt. And blockchain is considered to be the most secure platform in the world, making GTHE one of the most secure telehealth solutions, available, anywhere in the world. GTHE’s blockchain technology keeps your patients’ data safe. But it also keeps you safe from data security breach and legal issues so you can do what you love best. It’s about putting the joy back into practicing medicine, again.
Visit our website for more information on how Solve.Care and Global Telehealth Exchange can provide global patient access to your practice.
