Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of using blockchain for the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
The Department is currently assessing the potential benefits of Blockchain along with a number of other innovative, emerging technologies. Blockchain has the potential to enable patients to have greater control over who can access their records through the use of encrypted data and a permanent ledger in which all transactions are recorded. It also has possible applications in contracting. Globally the use of Blockchain in health and care is in a very early stage of development and there is no firm evidence as yet of the exact benefits it might offer.