Blockchain use cases have expanded far beyond cryptocurrency in recent years, with multiple industries embracing the technology in a wide range of fields, including healthcare, logistics and financial services.
There are many factors behind the hype. Blockchains are decentralized, transparent and increase the capacity of a whole network, opening a window for solutions that require significant computational power. More importantly, they give users the capacity to control their assets, including their data, without relying on third parties.
As blockchain evolves, companies across the world are working to find the best ways to implement the technology for a range of applications. To gain further insight, Cointelegraph reached out to projects disrupting industries and bringing blockchain closer to people’s daily lives.
Healthcare on the blockchain
Medical records have long been considered the domain of clinicians or health institutions worldwide. In 2020, a database that included sensitive information such as government IDs and tax ID numbers of over 115,000 people who applied for COVID-19 circulation permits was exposed in Argentina.
This incident inspired ShelterZoom to develop a solution to shield patients’ medical data from similar future cyber breaches. The company created a smart-document software-as-a-service provider and partnered with a private hospital to give patients complete ownership and control over medical records.
“Each patient record is tokenized, meaning a private key is attached to each online record,” ShelterZoom CEO Chao Cheng-Shorland told Cointelegraph.
Through a blockchain-based extension or mobile app, users can access medical record dashboards and carry out all required operations at any time. It also allows patients to track email attachments and revoke access, regardless of whether the recipient has opened the email. The executive explained:
“By moving record-keeping to a blockchain ecosystem, providers and…
