Block, Vogel Share Perspectives on Blockchain Technology

Associate Edward Block and Of Counsel Peter Vogel were quoted in a Healthcare IT News article, “As blockchain proves its worth for healthcare, regulatory questions remain,” about the privacy and compliance issues faced by the technology and how it squares with privacy laws such as HIPAA and the GDPR.

Block said blockchain actually makes a lot of sense in the health care field. “I think it provides a lot of control over what happens with patient information,” he said. “The idea that I have to go pay doctors to make copies of my medical records is crazy. Having all my data in a usable and portable format is a great use of this technology.”

Vogel said blockchain may be well-suited to compliance with state, national and international privacy laws. “Under GDPR, there is a burden to protect health records that’s not too different from HIPAA,” he said. “This may give some of the privacy advocates pause for thought that this may be a better means to protect it than using the traditional standard technology that’s out there.”