It seems to be only a matter of time until Web3 will be widespread in the healthcare industry. In this video clip from “The Health & Fitness Show” on Motley Fool Live, recorded on March 18, Fool.com analyst Meilin Quinn takes a look at how the blockchain may be used in the healthcare space and a few cutting-edge companies with interesting business models.
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Meilin Quinn: Right now, in our current Web2, we’ve seen that great data has grown exponentially and healthcare data is no exception. We have much more data on patient medical symptoms and patient diagnosis and medications that people take. These are stored in electronic health records. With so much data being collected, doctors have been able to use new systems and technology to create better links between symptoms and treatments in order to provide the best care and best treatment regimens.
Web3 could possibly fuel more ways to analyze and create context around this data. There’s this idea that an individual can receive personalized care and treatment options based on a digital twin who might have similar health data. You can have an AI analyzing boatloads of genetic information, medical conditions, and health data from different people through the blockchain.
Then this AI compares you to these people. So now when you go to a doctor, they not only have your past medical history but an AI that looks at similar people and has found what works for them. This whole time you own your own data. It’s private, it’s encrypted, it’s anonymous, and it’s immutable, meaning that it exists on the blockchain and can’t ever be edited.
Some quick examples. GenomesDAO, just a random Web3 company that I came across, it’s a private DNA bank that allows people to get their DNA sequenced to contribute to medical research, but while allowing people to remain anonymous, to own their own data. It uses the blockchain to provide that unchangeable log of people’s DNA data. This is meant to accelerate the discovery of life-changing treatments without sacrificing the privacy of patients.
Then what’s more, by uploading your data and contributing to this research apparently you can earn digital tokens that are like crypto, that are worth real money. You know what this concept of digitizing health data, its utility, it can even break down to personalizing recommendations for what you eat, when you work out, how to work out, how to live your healthiest life.
It could lead to longer lifespans, better quality of life. For example, Nebula Genomics is another genome sequencing project that decodes your genes, but also makes recommendations for the right exercise plans for the right things to eat. It also helps you learn more about your personality, which is super-interesting. Like Web3 astrology [laughs], I’m not sure.
But of course, there are a lot of regulatory issues that come up especially concerning people’s private health information, so may still be a long ways away. These are very early stages but these are some of the current projects that I come across demonstrating the value of blockchain.
