Singapore’s Accredify Develops Blockchain Health Passport

Singapore-based startup Accredify announced on Wednesday 30 September that it is partnering with government-owned investment firm SGInnovate to launch a digital health passport.

This passport application, scheduled to officially launch in October, will help to accelerate the re-opening of travel borders, Accredify noted.

More about the health passport

The new health passport will store personal medical documents in a digital wallet. The application is secured with blockchain technology for easy access and verification, ZDNet reported.

It also digitises medical documents for distribution, such as Covid-19 discharge memos and swab results. It aims to help streamline the workflow of healthcare service providers.

Both firms said in a joint statement that this application abandons the need for paper-based documents, which are difficult to manage and easily replicated, lost, or misplaced.

Helping users travel

Users will need to log in via their SingPass or email and create an account on the Accredify app.

They will then receive their unique health passport badges when they obtain the necessary Covid-19 documents required by the destination country. Authorities can scan the digital health passport’s QR code in the app to verify the authenticity, according to e27.

It added that blockchain-powered data storage allowed for greater transparency, security, and privacy. It also ensured personal health data would not be revealed.

“As the pandemic tested Singapore’s healthcare sector, we identified a gap in the large-scale management of medical records. We wanted to quickly build a solution that enables a trusted authentication process, to create more efficiencies for healthcare practitioners and officials working at the frontline, and support the safe reopening of the economy.”

SGInnovate’s Deputy Director of Venture Building Simon Gordon

The travel industry could access the digital health passport to facilitate checks and verifications on the health status of travelers. For example, the application process for “green lane” essential and official travels, or at boarding and border check-points for greater safety.

In July, both firms launched a pilot version of the application involving Singapore’s health and manpower ministries.