AmChart is a secure international Electronic Health Record (EHR) that utilizes blockchain technology in order to improve portability and the security of information provided to the system. EHRs have long been touted as the way to ease access to patient information, improve billing and coding within the medical industry, reduce transcription costs, cut down on pharmacy errors and issues, and other improvements to how patient information is handled. In fact, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act — part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — called for the development of EHRs. However, practices have struggled to integrate their information in one universal system, instead relying on their own practice’s system. Costs have prohibited them from making the transition, and reliance on older systems has left patient information at risk for data breaches.
Noticing long wait times for patient records and physicians often having to perform new intake evaluations since patient records were often incomplete, the CEO of AMSYS Blockchain, Aman Quadri, and a few physician partners began exploring the use of blockchain technology for medical record keeping in early 2017.
How It Works
AmChart will be available for physicians and providers through a monthly fee, which is a cost shift from how they traditionally pay for their electronic medical record system, but is anticipated to cost far less.
When a patient logs into the system, they will use an identity authentication mechanism and will be awarded tokens for each user transaction. They will complete an initial intake procedure in which they will answer questions pertaining to allergies and medications used, social and family history, current providers, past medical history, and more. This will create the record that can now be made universally available to providers participating in the blockchain. Patients will have the ability to log in and view new transactions and information added to their records at any time. Providers and payers will have immediate access to their patient’s medical information. Researchers who also wish to participate will have the ability to see non-identifying data regarding the treatment of patients within the system.
How Is It Funded?
The project is being funded by investors, who purchase tokens. Sale of these tokens is scheduled to begin this spring.
Ongoing upkeep of the system will be maintained by medical providers, who pay a monthly fee to participate in the program. The fees are also converted to tokens, a portion of which will be awarded to new patients for access to their records.
How Does AmChart Protect Patient Confidentiality?
The AmChart team is actively looking for ways to increase patient confidentiality, maintain HIPAA compliance, and eliminate the loss of information. Hyperledger Sawtooth is the platform that has been selected for AmChart, with a secured, off chain database. The team is evaluating new technologies in order to keep the system properly distributed, decentralized, and secure.
Providers will be required to obtain access permission to personal records by the patient. Patients will be provided a private key and a two-factor authentication to prevent others from logging into their account.
In Closing
According to AmChart, the blockchain technology allows patients a method in which to access their information and share it with their doctors as easily as logging onto their favorite website. With universal participation from physicians and providers, AmChart could very well revolutionize the way medical records are kept, stored, and accessed, making the process easier, safer, and more cost effective for all.
