Review and Inquiries on Ethics, Policies and Regulations of a Global Patient co-Owned Cloud (GPOC)

Abstract

Cloud-based personal health records have increased during the last thirty years across the globe. The concept of a Global Patient co-Owned Cloud (GPOC) of personal health records is presented in the GPOC series. It encompasses a systematic review and meta-analysis, a global survey among 100% of the UN member states and a technical sandbox. GPOC introduces patient co-ownership of personal health records. Here, we review the ethics, rights, privacy, co-ownership, policies, security, technique, initiatives, regulation, market, AI integration, and future challenges relevant to GPOC. We also included novel data from a series of over a hundred interviews with representatives of fifty national health ministries from all over the world and international organisations. Over 90% of the interviewees strongly endorsed the idea that co-ownership should be a human right. Similarly, consensus was attained for all the twelve reviewed aspects. Our hybrid approach, combining narrative review with interviews of senior state and organizational health experts, offers original insights and in-depth analysis of key aspects relevant to GPOC. Notably, the enthusiasm for the GPOC concept was unanimous. Moreover, we provide a comprehensive global overview of aspects of relevant human rights, ethics, privacy, policy, regulations, and integration initiatives by states and organisations. We also analysed the incumbent health record market, AI integration, and future challenges for a GPOC. Furthermore, we offer a holistic analysis of regulations, the global nature of AI, and its implications for healthcare. These discussions contribute to the ongoing discourse on the ethical and societal implications of emerging technologies in healthcare. Finally, the present study indicates that GPOC might result in a new human right to co-own one’s personal health information. GPOC could drive development and spread of artificial intelligence for healthcare globally. It may solve the lacking personal health record integration on a global scale. Thus, a decentralised GPOC with consensus from blockchain, may benefit global health.