IBM blockchain powers new app to help firms reopen amid pandemic

IBM’s new blockchain-based COVID-19 application puts privacy first.

A new application powered by the IBM blockchain aims to help people around the world return to physical encounters amid the coronavirus pandemic.

IBM Watson Health, a healthcare-focused arm of tech giant IBM, is launching IBM Digital Health Pass, a blockchain-based app to support global organizations and companies as they start reopening after months of lockdown.

IBM Watson stated that the new app can deploy multiple data types like COVID-19 test results and onsite temperature scans to generate a verified health status. With the opportunity to verify health status via the app, individuals can safely access public locations like a sports stadium, airplanes, museums or amusement parks, IBM’s representatives said.

Eric Piscini, vice president of the blockchain division at IBM Watson Health, emphasized that IBM Digital Health Pass is designed to support privacy as its core feature. According to the executive, the app will allow users to share their verified health pass without exposing any of the underlying data used to generate it:

“We believe that trust and transparency remain paramount when developing a platform like a digital health passport, or any solution that handles sensitive personal information, and we remain committed to this philosophy as we continue to build solutions to help support organizations during the current public health crisis.”

This is not the first time that IBM blockchain has been used to help people tackle COVID-19. Earlier this year, IBM also launched IBM’s Rapid Supplier Connect network — a cloud-based application that uses blockchain to assist businesses providing coronavirus relief supplies to connect with buyers.

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