The adoption of remote and online services has grown rapidly over the past few years in all facets of life. The healthcare industry has slowly made strides, picking up the pace lately. Hospitals around the globe have opted to implement remote and distributed medical care into their services. Remote and distributed medical care grew even more popular over the last twelve months because of the Covid19 pandemic, as remote services became the safest method for patients and physicians to interact with each other. Instead of taking time off work to visit a physician’s office, conducting an online call saves time and reduces cost.
Remote Medical Care
Remote medical care refers to the communication and transfer of information between two or more entities for health care purposes. Telemedicine takes different forms, such as virtual consultations and conferences and remote drug prescriptions. Typical examples are patients booking teleconsultation appointments with their physicians. Another example would be collecting information from personal IoT devices and sending it to a hospital server. Hospitals around the globe have assigned outpatients and non-emergency cases to remote medical care staff.
Distributed Medical Care
Distributed medical care refers to hubs or specialized vehicles that quickly serve patients in specific geographical areas. Covid 19 vaccination hubs, blood donation hubs, emergency hubs are types of distributed medical care units. For example
- Blood donation hubs scatter over numerous locations
- Emergency vehicles and hubs strategically located in remote areas, highways, and travel routes.
- Covid19 vaccination hubs, etc.
These facilities provide emergency medical care, transport patients to the nearest hospital, and alleviate the stress on federal hospitals and other major care facilities.
Drawbacks of Remote & Distributed Medical Care
Even though remote and distributed medical care services reduce the stress on hospitals and health centers, they face many challenges concerning security and safety. Unscrupulous characters may pose as professional practitioners to commit crimes because of a lack of oversight on these smaller units. Identity theft may also be used to file false insurance claims. Communication between distributed medical hubs and hospitals is susceptible to cyberattacks and inaccuracy when delivering data.
Why Patientory Blends Perfectly with Remote & Distributed Medical Care
Patientory provides the solutions that remote and distributed medical care lacks. The PTOYMatrix network blockchain accommodates all types of healthcare entities, including remote and distributed medical staff. Since the PTOYMatrix network is a private and permissioned blockchain, only authorized entities can communicate with other parties. Identity and credential verification for every medical staff member and the patient must be completed before initiating any information exchange.
Communication between patients and physicians and healthcare data exchange goes through an encrypted medium—the cryptographic features of the PTOYMatrix network shields the network from malicious actors. Patientory smart contracts and decentralized apps govern the relationship and interaction between individuals and healthcare organizations.
Conclusion
Although remote and distributed medical care is a relatively new phenomenon, it brings a different approach to the relationship between patients and healthcare providers. Complying with HIPAA regulations and standards protects healthcare providers from accidents, lawsuits, and other liabilities. However, this achievement already looks almost improbable without implementing a blockchain technology infrastructure such as Patientory into the mix.
