Cyprus hospital joins VeChain Ecosystem to integrate E-HCert app

The app will be used for all lab tests at two Cyprus hospitals, allowing patients and doctors to securely access results of COVID-19 and other tests

Singapore-based non-profit entity, VeChain Foundation, has had a busy year in 2020: from the launch of its blockchain-enabled sustainability solution to power ‘green business’ in August, to powering a US seafood import platform for tracing food safety and sustainability announced just this week. Their latest news, however, came yesterday with the announcement that Cyprus’ Aretaeio Hospital had joined the VeChain Ecosystem and integrated the E-HCert app through its lab testing services.

Throughout this year, VeChain has been collaborating with I-Dante on blockchain-based medical solutions, which led to the development of the E-HCert app – an archival solution for COVID-19 RT-PCR (real time polymerase chain reaction) and antibody test records.

The app has already been used by more than 8,000 people as part of the flight arrival process at the International Airport of Larnaca since its implementation at the Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus. Now another top Cyprus private medical facility, Aretaeio Hospital, has been on-boarded.

This news accompanies the launch of the latest iteration of the app – a Digital Lab Test Wallet. This will address deficiencies in the previous system such as patients having to wait days for all tests to be completed before receiving results and having to maintain hard copies of those results to ensure access to subsequent healthcare services.

The new healthcare record system combines traceability, immutability, interoperability and compliance. After taking a lab test, a patient’s results are automatically uploaded to the E-HCert app on the VeChainThor public blockchain. The prescribing doctor will receive those results and the patient will get a notification that results are available. Patients can use their private credentials to securely access the E-HCert wallet which allows them to prove their health status or share their results with other doctors while retaining full control of their personal data.

The E-HCert app will be used by both the Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus and Aretaeio Hospital starting in January 2021. It will serve more than 100,000 people each year for all laboratory tests from routine blood work to COVID-19 tests. VeChain and I-Dante see this as an opportunity to drive increased digitisation in hospitals and become a leading force in the transformation of the European healthcare sector.