Walmart eyes blockchain-based medical records system

In an emergency situation, this would enable first responders to pull up medical data from a patient when they are unable to communicate. The abstract listed on the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office application is as follows:

“A method for obtaining a medical record of a patient that is unable to communicate, wherein the medical record of the patient is stored on a blockchain, is provided, including receiving an encrypted private key and a public key associated with the patient stored on a wearable device of the patient, in response to a scanning of the wearable device of the patient at a scene of an emergency, wherein the encrypted private key is decrypted by a biometric signature of the patient, obtaining the biometric signature of the patient by scanning a bodily feature of the patient, decrypting the encrypted private key using the biometric signature of the patient to determine a private key associated with the patient, and accessing the medical records of the patient, using a combination of the public key and the private key associated with the patient, to access a local storage medium of the wearable device.”

This isn’t the first blockchain patent filed by the US retailer. It is also looking to tap the technology for online delivery and a marketplace for reselling purchased products.