Nokia has partnered with OP Financial Group, a Finland-based financial services group, to use blockchain technology to establish more trust in managing health data. According to a Nokia blog, the purpose of the pilot project, which involves 100 people, is to provide individuals more control over their personal health data.
“Nokia’s experimental blockchain platform used in the pilot puts the focus on privacy and giving users full control over their data” is said from the company.
To achieve this, they say any data that the users decide to share are encrypted, and can only be read by the intended participant on the platform, in this case OP. The decision of the user to share their data, together with proof of authenticity of the data coming from a valid device (in this case the Nokia Steel HR) is what would become visible to the rest of participating organizations.
Through the application of the pilot, Nokia Steel HR, the daily steps and the sleep hours of the participants are shared, which leaves a reliable and preserving fingerprint of privacy in the blockchain. Based on the collected data, OP automatically rewards users with points based on their progress towards their fitness goals.
In addition to securing health data, the pilot would encourage companies to explore the possibilities of incentive models, such as smart health insurance and occupational health programs.
Kristian Luoma, Head of OP Lab at OP Financial Group, shares: “We’re excited about the collaboration with Nokia. It is great to see Blockchain applied to something that needs trust, like in this our pilot we’re joining forces. This pilot is quite literally a prime example of the technologies we’ll use in the future, combined innovatively to create value.”
Nokia said it is the first pilot in which two Finnish companies explore the intersection between technology, health and insurance.
