Blockchain Digital Token Healthcare Directive Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing advance healthcare directives lack efficiency in ensuring up-to-date directives, especially in emergency situations, and do not provide seamless access to healthcare providers, and fail to integrate with multiple software platforms and electronic medical records effectively.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a digital advance healthcare directive system that uses blockchain technology to create and manage digital tokens, allowing secure and decentralized access to patient directives, integrates with various software platforms and electronic medical records, and provides mechanisms for automatic updates and emergency access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital directives are stored in centralized databases, then access control is simplified, but security and immutability are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the directive data into two parts: the actual directive content is stored in a centralized database for easy access, while cryptographic hashes and access control information are stored on the blockchain for security and immutability. This segmentation allows the system to benefit from both centralized storage efficiency and decentralized security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces smart contracts as intermediaries between the centralized database and blockchain. These smart contracts manage the linkage between directive hashes and blockchain records, handling access control logic and verification processes, thereby reducing the complexity burden on the overall system architecture.
2Reliability
If blockchain technology is used for all directive storage, then security and accessibility are improved, but storage efficiency and access speed decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential cryptographic elements (hashes, access control data) to the blockchain, while leaving the bulk directive storage in traditional databases. This extraction approach maintains the security and accessibility benefits of blockchain without incurring the full storage and access overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of implementing full blockchain storage for all directive data, the system applies blockchain technology partially - only for critical security and access control functions. This partial application achieves the necessary reliability improvements without the excessive resource consumption of complete blockchain implementation.
3Productivity
If manual updates of directives are required, then patient autonomy is maintained, but timeliness and accuracy of up-to-date directives are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the blockchain records serve as a verification layer. When directives are updated in the centralized database, the system can verify changes against blockchain records and notify relevant parties, ensuring timeliness while maintaining patient control over the actual directive content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes preliminary automated processes for detecting life events and triggering directive review notifications. While the actual directive updating remains manual to preserve patient autonomy, the system proactively identifies when updates may be needed and alerts patients, improving timeliness without removing patient control.
4Reliability
If complex authentication processes are used, then security is improved, but ease of access in emergency situations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic access control where authentication requirements adjust based on the situation. In emergency situations, the smart contracts can facilitate faster access with simplified verification, while maintaining strict security for routine accesses. The access control mechanism is flexible and adapts its complexity based on contextual needs.
Solution Approach 2:
Different authentication levels are applied to different access scenarios. The system provides enhanced security for general access while offering streamlined authentication pathways for emergency situations through pre-configured emergency access mechanisms in the smart contracts, ensuring both security and ease of access where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for managing digital advance healthcare directives. In one aspect, a method for creating a digital token for a digital directive is disclosed. The method comprising receiving the digital directive and a public key from a patient computing device, storing the digital directive in a healthcare directive data store, generating a digital token linking the stored digital directive to the public key, and publishing the digital token to a blockchain, wherein the digital token, when combined with a cryptographic signature from a private key paired with the public key, allows access to the digital directive.