China’s first
blockchain-powered hospital is set to launch sometime in 2021, but some
government officials voiced concerns over data security. 

According to Cn-Healthcare,
the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University will launch a
pilot program by January 2021 as blockchain integration is still
incomplete. The hospital will use the blockchain to store patient and
treatment information.

The operators also said that such a
blockchain-powered platform will allow patients to access the so-called
“internet hospital” services via a WeChat applet, whose blockchain
network stores consultation and treatment data by aiming to maximize
contactless solutions due to the pandemic.

However, officials of
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told hospital
administrators they are not convinced that blockchain infrastructure is
safe and are concerned over data security issues.

Niu Tie, director of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, said:

"Our
information department is facing a lot of pressure [from the
government]. As a leading hospital in the region, any decision-making
was very cautious (...) The requirements are also very strict in terms
of privacy. The Ministry of Information decided to explore the
application of blockchain from the perspective of data security, and
also pointed out the direction of development for the technical staff."

Government
officials, Niu said, wanted the hospital to ensure information can be
verified and that it can secure storage, transmission and access to
data. 

China is well-known for its mass surveillance of citizens, making such comments contradictory to some of its policies. 

Dalian
hospital officials said that their blockchain platform allows patients
to access services via WeChat, whose blockchain network stores
consultation and treatment data to maximize contactless solutions due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dalian hospital and the Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology are still discussing the best ways
to guarantee data privacy and security before the planned launch.

Chinese companies filed for over half of all global blockchain patents according to the “2020 Blockchain Industry Development” report. This follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s endorsement of the industry.

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