Aria is a blockchain-based system operating in Cyprus and Greece, designed to provide patients with better access to their medical records.
Established before the introduction of Cyprus’s national health service in 2019/20, Aria initially focused on giving patients access to their medical records. Over time, the business model shifted towards research, emphasising the use of patient-consented medical data. The company’s vision is to become a data management system rather than a personal health record platform.
Healthcare institutions in Cyprus and Greece can integrate their EMR systems with Aria, allowing patients access to their medical records. Currently, in Cyprus, each hospital can choose its own EMR system, as there is no national standardisation.
Once API integrations are in place, patients can create an account on Aria and request a connection with their hospital. After the hospital completes the necessary steps, the patient gains access to their medical records. If a patient is treated by hospitals X and Y, but only hospital X uses Aria, the patient will only be able to view data from hospital X through their Aria account on the My Aria app. Patients can manage their records, choosing to share anonymised data for research purposes and earning rewards for their contributions.
This approach addresses the challenges researchers face in accessing reliable health data. By enabling citizens to consent to share their health information, Aria facilitates medical research, crucial given the difficulty many clinical trials have in recruiting enough participants.
Aria Health utilises blockchain technology to enable a secure and decentralised exchange of health data. This approach safeguards patient privacy while also improving the accuracy and reliability of the data shared among key healthcare stakeholders, including researchers.
In addition to data from hospitals' EMRs, patients can manually contribute their own health information, such as tracking medications and symptoms. Aria also plans to integrate wearable devices in the future.
Challenges and issues: Integrating with EMRs has been very difficult due to competitiveness and fear, making it challenging to collaborate with other companies. Additionally, data is not standardised. None of the hospitals in Cyprus use Epic or Cerner; they mainly use Greek systems.