Thailand will develop blockchain-based national health platform

Thai government agencies will partner with Bitkub, a local digital unicorn, to develop an integrated national health platform using blockchain as its architecture. The partnership is another example of the government and private sector diving deeper into the digital economy and services.

Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said that the Thai government is committed to using modern technology to improve the quality of public health services. New technologies will enable the health sector to connect and integrate health data efficiently and holistically. To achieve that, the public and private sectors need to work together, he added.

Blockchain is a digital ledger technology. IBM says that “blockchain is ideal for delivering information because it provides immediate, shared and completely transparent information stored on an immutable ledger that can be accessed only by permissioned network members.”

Viewed by many as extremely secure, blockchain technology will enable the verification and protection of patients’ personal information, according to the National Health Security Office and the National Telecommunications Public Company, which are partnering with Bitkub World Tech in the project.

The partners are planning to pilot the project by the end of this year. They mentioned that the goal is to support equality in access to healthcare and the development of telemedicine.

Thailand has a universal health care system, which has evolved by merging several existing separate systems for different constituencies. The new system aims to integrate them all, including health data on migrant workers from neighboring countries. The partners believe that it will create a more comprehensive and inclusive national system.

Photo courtesy of: https://www.nhso.go.th/news/3543