Walmart Files Blockchain EHR Data Patent
For Walmart to file a patent for blockchain supply chain data would not be particularly newsworthy. Maybe even some sort of financial transactions blockchain. But how does Walmart even know what an Electronic Healthcare Record is and why would Walmart file a blockchain EHR data patent? This could well be one of those seminal moments where a new market blossoms. Whether Consumer Healthcare, Wellness, Well-being, or other name this consumer-focused market has been getting more attention.
Walmart’s ongoing investigation of blockchain technologies seems to have intersected with its growing interest in joining the healthcare space, according to a patent application released earlier this week by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
According to the document, which was filed in December, the retail giant is seeking to protect a method that allows a patient’s EHR to be obtained from a blockchain database even if they are unable to communicate. Doing so would require verification from two different keys: a public key stored in a wearable that would be scanned by emergency responders via RFID, and a private key that is obtained by scanning a biometric signature from the patient.
The appeal of storing a patient’s EHR on blockchain is the relative difficulty of an unintended party accessing or modifying their data, the company wrote in its application. Both a public and private key are required to before the system will allow access to the patient’s record, with the private key being specific to each individual user.
For more information please see the original article: Why Walmart filed a patent for blockchain, wearables and EHR data | Healthcare IT News
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