MH-MD · Project

Blockchain-Based Platform Letting Patients Control and Monetize Their Health Data

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Right now, your medical records are scattered across dozens of hospitals and clinics, and you have no idea who's looking at them or why. Imagine if you had a personal digital vault for your health data — like a bank account, but for medical information — where you decide who gets access and can even get paid when researchers use your data. That's what this project built: a blockchain-powered network connecting patients, hospitals, and pharma companies, so data flows securely with the patient in control. Think of it as putting a smart lock on your medical files that only you hold the key to.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved

countries represented in the network

project deliverables produced

SMEs in the consortium

industry partners

35%

industry participation ratio

The business problem

What needed solving

Healthcare organizations sit on massive amounts of patient data locked in isolated systems, while pharma companies and researchers desperately need that data for drug development and clinical trials. Patients have zero visibility into who uses their information, hospitals face crippling GDPR compliance costs, and data breaches erode trust across the entire system.

The solution

What was built

The project built a blockchain-based peer-to-peer platform with Personal Data Accounts that lets patients control their health data. Key outputs include a Value Estimation Model (demonstrated), a methodology for classifying sensitive data by informational and economic value, and de-identification and encryption tools — totaling 21 deliverables across the 3-year project.

Audience

Who needs this

Hospital IT departments managing patient data across multiple facilitiesPharmaceutical companies needing real-world patient data for clinical trialsHealth data compliance officers dealing with GDPR in multi-country operationsHealth-tech startups building patient-centric data platformsClinical research organizations (CROs) sourcing patient cohorts

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Healthcare IT & Hospital Systems

enterprise

Target: Hospital groups or health IT vendors managing patient records across multiple sites

If you are a hospital group dealing with fragmented patient data across facilities and rising compliance costs under GDPR — this project developed a peer-to-peer architecture using blockchain and Personal Data Accounts that lets patients control access to their records while enabling secure cross-institutional data sharing. The system was tested with 17 consortium partners across 8 countries, giving it real multi-jurisdiction validation.

Pharmaceutical & Clinical Research

enterprise

Target: Pharma companies or CROs needing real-world patient data for drug development

If you are a pharma company struggling to recruit patients for clinical trials or access real-world health data — this project built a value estimation model and de-identification toolkit that lets you access biomedical data directly from consenting patients through a secure marketplace. Instead of months of negotiation with hospitals, you connect through a trusted network where patients opt in and data quality is guaranteed.

Health Data Privacy & Compliance

SME

Target: Privacy-tech vendors or compliance consultancies serving healthcare clients

If you are a data protection consultancy helping healthcare clients handle GDPR and data breach risks — this project created a comprehensive methodology for profiling and classifying sensitive health data by informational and economic value, plus tools for selecting the right de-identification and encryption approaches for different data types. The consortium included 5 SMEs already working in this space across 8 countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this kind of system?

The project's EU contribution amount is not publicly available in the dataset. However, as a Research and Innovation Action with 17 partners, the total investment was substantial. Licensing or integration costs would depend on which components you need — the data classification methodology, the blockchain architecture, or the de-identification toolkit.

Can this scale to handle millions of patient records?

The architecture was designed as a distributed, peer-to-peer network using blockchain — which is inherently scalable across institutions. The consortium tested across 8 countries with both hospital and industry partners. However, based on available project data, specific throughput benchmarks are not documented in the deliverable titles.

What's the IP situation — can we license this technology?

The project was coordinated by LYNKEUS, an Italian SME, with 5 SMEs and 6 industry partners in the consortium. IP is likely shared among consortium members under the Horizon 2020 grant agreement. Contact the coordinator to discuss licensing specific components like the Value Estimation Model or the de-identification methodology.

Does this meet current GDPR and health data regulations?

The project was specifically designed to address data protection challenges in biomedical data. It developed tools for data classification, de-identification, and encryption tailored to different sensitivity levels. The consortium included partners from 8 EU and associated countries, ensuring multi-jurisdiction regulatory awareness.

How long would integration with existing hospital IT systems take?

Based on available project data, the system uses a distributed peer-to-peer architecture designed to connect with existing data repositories rather than replace them. The 21 deliverables include methodology guides and technical tools, but specific integration timelines are not documented in the available data.

Is there ongoing support or has the project ended?

The project ran from November 2016 to December 2019 and is now closed. The coordinator LYNKEUS (Italy) and the 5 SME partners may offer commercial support or further development. The project website at myhealthmydata.eu may have current status information.

Consortium

Who built it

The MH-MD consortium brings together 17 partners from 8 countries (AT, CH, DE, EL, FR, IT, RO, UK), with a balanced mix of 6 universities, 6 industry players, 4 research organizations, and 1 other entity. The 35% industry ratio and 5 SMEs signal genuine commercial interest beyond academic research. The coordinator LYNKEUS is an Italian SME, which typically means faster decision-making on licensing and commercialization. The geographic spread across major EU markets plus Switzerland and the UK gives the solution built-in multi-regulatory credibility — important for any health data product needing to work across borders.

LYNKEUSCoordinator · IT
BE YS RESEARCH FRANCEparticipant · FR
ATHINA-EREVNITIKO KENTRO KAINOTOMIAS STIS TECHNOLOGIES TIS PLIROFORIAS, TON EPIKOINONION KAI TIS GNOSISparticipant · EL
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
CHARITE - UNIVERSITAETSMEDIZIN BERLINparticipant · DE
DEUTSCHES HERZZENTRUM BERLINparticipant · DE
SIEMENS HEALTHCARE GMBHparticipant · DE
HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALEparticipant · CH
QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDONparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDONparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITATEA TRANSILVANIA DIN BRASOVparticipant · RO
SBA RESEARCH GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBHparticipant · AT
OSPEDALE PEDIATRICO BAMBINO GESUparticipant · IT
H W COMMUNICATIONS LIMITEDparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

LYNKEUS is an Italian SME that coordinated the project — reach out via their company website or the CORDIS contact form for licensing and partnership discussions.

Order a report on this consortium See LYNKEUS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how MHMD's health data platform could solve your data access or compliance challenges? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the development team.

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