Iryo – Healthcare Blockchain Giving Medical Data Full Control to the Patient
Iryo – a new blockchain startup creating a globally participatory healthcare network -, will soon provide a modern electronic health record system for refugee camps in the Middle East as their first real-world use case.
All across the world, patients currently have little or no control in regards to how they interact with their medical records. A patient may have to see multiple specialists, forcing them to carry around copies of their records as they travel from one healthcare provider to the next. Additionally, the majority of medical data is scattered across different institutions and amongst different healthcare providers – all struggling with a lack of interoperability. Doctors have no option but to work with incomplete medical histories which ultimately hinders the level of care provided. By giving ownership of the medical record to the patient and using a consistent medical standard known as openEHR, Iryo is poised to redefine the value of medical data across the industry.
Iryo is partnering with an NGO called Walk With Me to provide the IT infrastructure needed to improve the quality of healthcare provided within camps managed by the organisation which are spread throughout the Middle East. Iryo will enable patients and their families to securely store their medical records within their own mobile devices. The dynamic nature of conflict zones prove the need for patients to have the ability to carry their medical histories with them. The Iryo platform will be deployed in refugee camps located throughout the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, soon followed by other countries including Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Djibouti.
The Slovenian startup is striving towards making medical records a bearer instrument, which are independent of identity and always controlled by the holder, in this case, the patient. Access to medical data will be facilitated by the use of a blockchain and modern encryption protocols.
About Iryo: Iryo (https://iryo.io) is a Slovenian blockchain startup creating a globally participatory healthcare network with an improved user experience for patients, healthcare workers, managers and researchers. By adopting openEHR medical standards and being open-source, Iryo is solving the issue of interoperability in healthcare from the ground up.
