IOTA is making moves in the healthcare sector after donating $2340,000 to a project known as Untangle Care. As well as making reference to IOTA’s unique “tangle” protocol, the project is ultimately aiming to untangle the healthcare system for organizations, healthcare professionals and patients.
“The goal of the Untangle Care project is to develop key IOTA-based tools that will allow healthcare data to flow between healthcare institution-based solutions (e.g. Electronic Medical Records) and patient-based solutions (e.g. Personal Health Records) in a secure, seamless and healthcare-interoperable way,” reads the recent presses release published by the IOTA Ecosystem Development Fund.
IOTA Making Moves in 2018
Although much of IOTA’s work has been focused on decentralizing and improving the internet of things (IoT), providing an open-source platform for developers is also a key part of the project. Indeed, already this year we’ve seen Japanese tech giant Fujitsu show interest in IOTA, while BOSCH has already started working with the peer-to-peer network. Through these partnerships alone, the price of IOTA’s digital token, MIOTA, has enjoyed some impressive highs this year.
Despite succumbing to the bearish trend that’s caused all cryptos to take a hit in 2018, the aforementioned summer announcements saw the MIOTA price chart top $2.60 over the summer. While highs of June and July have since faded, the latest news could be the positive injection MIOTA needs. Given that healthcare is a universal issue, any efforts to create a more efficient system will be well received. Indeed, even if Untangle Care can go some way to improving the flow of data between institutions and patients, it could improve treatment rates significantly.
In isolation, that would justify IOTA’s decision to help fund the project. However, in a wider sense, it would demonstrate that IOTA’s system works. When everything else is stripped away, IOTA is about sharing data and there are few industries where sharing is trickier or more vital than healthcare. No one wants any of their personal information getting into the wrong hands, but medical records are a level above that. This makes the storage and transference of healthcare data a much more regimented process than any other.
IOTA Could Untangle a Complex Sharing Problem
Beyond that, a few hours can make a huge difference in the medical world. If a doctor has to wait too long for some vital medical information about a patient, it could end up being too late. Therefore, if Untangle Care can perfect a system whereby data flows securely between medical staff and patients, it would improve standards across the board. Moreover, it would give individuals greater control over their own medical records, something that’s currently lacking.
Therefore, while a move into healthcare with an as yet unknown company might not sound as glamorous as a partnership with Fujitsu, it could be more valuable to IOTA in the long-run. By proving it has the power to revolutionize something as important as healthcare, IOTA could quickly become a leading light in the crypto space. For those that buy MIOTA now, that could generate a healthy return on your investment. However, even if we look beyond that, a successful relationship here could finally show that decentralized networks have a real and meaningful purpose in our lives.