Patients in Kenya sell their health data to get medical care

Personal patient information is being given currency in Kenya as a way of expanding patient access to doctors. A mobile start-up says its phone application allows users to pay for medical services by selling their personal data online through blockchain technology which protects their identity. In Kenya, accessing medical services can be expensive. Kenyan start-up Snark Health believes it's found a way to enable more people to get qualified medical attention without having to pay for it with cash. When a patient needs medical attention, they look for a doctor through the Snark app. Their personal medical data is anonymized by Snark and sold to pharmaceutical or consumer health companies. Doctors get paid in various ways to incentivize them to join the app. When they see patients who cannot pay, they receive 10% of the cash Snark earns from selling patients’ anonymized data. If a paying customer also agrees to the collection and sale of their health data they will get an equal share of the cash earned, so Snark, the doctor, and the patient each earn a third of the money made through the sale of the data. The founder of Snark Health is Edwin Lubanga. He explains the app means the patient has access to doctors regardless of funds. Lubanga says: "Snark is a platform that connects patients with doctors [...]. Basically, patients log into the platform [...] to find a list of doctors and book appointments and consult them on the go." According to Lubanga, it's also a way for fee-paying patients to make extra money. According to Snark, the patient’s rights are protected because the company is a certified processor of data that complies with protocols laid down by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. Lubanga says the patient's sensitive health information can't be traced back to them. Austin Omune, the CEO of Negus Med Limited, says he supports the idea. "While working as a doctor, we experience patients struggling to meet the payment needs so, of course, there is a need for innovations to address this challenge,” he added. According to Snark, the app has so far attracted more than 300 doctors and 4,000 patients. This article was provided by The Associated Press.