Wednesday, December 02, 2009

A Novel Way for Everyone in the Nation to Exchange Health Data Simply, Inexpensively and Securely

It's becoming increasingly clear that while a monolithic centralized network is useful for sharing patient data within a large healthcare organization, it not a suitable architecture for interconnecting everyone in the nation (and world), including all patients/consumers, healthcare practitioners/clinicians, researchers, clinics and hospitals, labs, pharmacies, regional and state health information exchanges, and others. Why? Because the centralized model is much more expensive & complex, and arguably less secure, than decentralized (distributed, peer-to-peer, node-to-node) networks that are encrypted end-to-end.

This novel technology--which includes an optional proprietary (patented) component--connects all parties in a way similar to the telephone system. It enables massive amounts of patient data to be exchanged securely and inexpensively between any parties. It accommodates standalone and networked computers, as well cloud-based computing. It operates cost-effectively even when bandwidth is low and connectivity is intermittent regardless of available bandwidth, transmits comprehensive health data in the most efficient way possible, fosters collaboration among loosely individuals and organizations in coupled professional and social networks, and promotes the dissemination of ever-evolving knowledge providing evidence-based decision support that continually improves outcomes and lowers costs for greater healthcare value.

In this proposed architecture, the nodes are in a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) publish/subscribe mesh node network. The nodes can reside on any suitable computerized device, including computer hard drives, smart phones, smart cards, USB flash drives, etc. and it can works in conjunction with desktop (stand-alone; client-server) and cloud computing systems.

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