Safe and Sound: Blockchain-Backed Digital Identity in the Post-Coronavirus Era
Co-founder of the Blockchain Research Institute and author of Financial Services Revolution, Alex Tapscott, told Cointelegraph that proof-of-health solutions such as these are starting to play a major role, as COVID-19 has highlighted the potential for health data and identity management: Tapscott further explained that it’s becoming easier to imagine a digital identity stored on a digital wallet. He noted that this use case is how blockchain can be leveraged in healthcare to securely store identities across distributed networks: Founder and CEO of Civic, Vinny Lingham, told Cointelegraph that while Health Key is a forward-thinking concept (since a COVID19 vaccination is yet to be developed), this particular use case works well, as the Civic Wallet was designed to store personal data that makes up a user’s digital identity.
Unlike Civic’s Health Key that leverages the Ethereum blockchain, the E-HCert app is built upon encryption, meaning patient data doesn’t directly reside on the VeChain blockchain. For example, blockchain startup Duality Health recently entered a collaboration with The University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School to determine how digital identity can be leveraged to ensure efficient sharing of health data between patients and different hospitals.
