In the emerging industry known as “fintech,” the Gulf Coast
city of Dubai is taking big steps to implement something called blockchain
technology, applying this cutting-edge digital ledger system to various
industries.
A 2016 article in
Gulf Business shows the establishment of something called the Global
Blockchain Council by government parties in coordination with the Dubai Museum
of the Future Foundation (DMFF). The DMFF is showcasing new blockchain systems to be
utilized by the Dubai International Finance Center and Dubai Multi-Commodity
Center (DMCC), as well as health care providers.
One application of blockchain, which has been described as
providing an “immutable ledger record” for transactions and data items, is
directed toward the country’s health care system, in order to make patient
records more traceable, to prevent medical mistakes and to make it easier for
health records to become portable.
The DMCC plans to use blockchain to prevent
conflict diamonds from entering the market. Other initiatives will involve
rewards platforms for tourism, and the archiving of wills and trusts of Dubai
residents.
All of this represents an astounding initiative to use
brand-new technology in ways that will probably be replicated around the world
in the future.
Gary Patterson, who runs the FiscalDoctor consulting
business, spoke to Gulf News Journal Friday about the blockchain initiatives
and what’s likely to result from them.
“The common thread seems to be that Dubai is moving to
exploit an opportunity made possible by a very recent change — the ability to
more quickly and more accurately create a chain of information in areas where
you absolutely have to have an ongoing link on data across a huge volume of
data,” Patterson said.
Patterson described blockchain’s relevance to health care
systems around the world, which he called “inefficient.”
“There is a huge need to get better in the area of
health care,” he said.
In America, the field is over-regulated and
inefficient, while making up approximately one-sixth of the whole economy, according
to recent Forbes reporting. However, Patterson said, there is often very little
political will to reform health care systems, partly because — whether it is the
national health programs of most modernized countries or the American system of
private insurers — in either case, people aren’t paying directly for health care
with their own money.
Better record-keeping, Patterson said, could help.
“There is a dire need to have this beginning-to-end
traceability in health care,” he said.
Speaking on plans by a local telecom provider to facilitate
blockchain for health care records, Patterson said the move makes sense, since
telecom systems may have inherent access to the data at hand.
Overall, Dubai is working to become a world leader
in finance by applying blockchain in key ways, before everyone else, according to Patterson.
“They’re working across several sectors,” he said,
adding that the national example has a big takeaway for individual businesses. “What are you doing in your business to seize an
opportunity, rather than be the person who gets seized?”
