By Arthur Swan

The retail giant Walmart has been awarded a patent for a blockchain system which stores patient medical records in a highly secured database. This information can quickly be retrieved in an emergency situation if the patient is unresponsive with first responders. In order to secure the privacy of patients, medical information stored on the blockchain will only be accessed on emergency specific cases.

The Walmart patent describes a wearable device (ideally a wearable bracelet) which would serve as a storage unit for the blockchain database. A biometric scanner would then be used to obtain patients information through a RFID scan from the wearable device.

In case of emergency, the patient with the wearable device would be scanned by the first responder, which would then be able to acquire an encrypted private and public key from the patient.

In order to decrypt the private key, a feature of the patient must be scanned. This could be the retina, Iris, fingerprints, or face. Once the private key has been decrypted, the patient’s medical record can be obtained from the blockchain database.

Saving Lives

The blockchain system outlined within the patent will allow medical personnel to be fully briefed on patient’s vital medical records before they arrive at a particular facility. This is not only a time-saving system but potentially life-saving as well. The patent was initially filed by Walmart on December 14 of 2016 and has since then been awarded on June 14, 2018.

Many other Walmart blockchain patents have been awarded here recently. A blockchain electrical grid patent was awarded as of last week. Another blockchain patent was awarded last month regarding a digital marketplace which would allow customers to resell items as well as maintain a history record of that particular item.