Why The New Normal Needs More Than Contact Tracing Apps

Contact tracing was one of the most vital parts of the pandemic response in its early stages. Back then, experts knew very little about the new infectious disease. The only thing that they understood was that it spreads very easily when a carrier comes in close contact with another person. A smartphone contact tracing app was the solution to detect if they were in close proximity to someone with the disease. It was an effective way to ensure they do not spread the disease to their loved ones. In a way, it is our initial protection against the disease. Now that the disease is still spreading, it is time to adopt a more proactive approach to control it.

When Contact Tracing Apps Become Ineffective

Over the course of the year, we have gathered some important insights into our response to the disease. One thing that we have learned is that contact tracing apps no longer serve their purpose well.

When they’re not mandatory.

One of the most crucial flaws of the tracing apps is that it is not mandatory. The adoption rate, therefore, remains low. This presents our pandemic response efforts with more problems than benefits. One critical issue that resulted from this opt-in system is that it gave rise to multiple contact tracing apps. Unfortunately, the app that one might need to enter an establishment might not work with other establishments or cities with a different preferred app. This leads to an uncoordinated contact tracing effort. This lack of coordination has made contact tracing a complex web of independent apps from different developers. The result is a sluggish, inefficient, and encumbered pandemic response.

When they can’t determine if test results or vaccines are authentic or tampered.

Now that tests have become more accessible, establishments require patrons to show that they have tested negative. Hotels and airports where social distancing is difficult, for example, have already begun to implement this new operating procedure. Contact tracing apps have adapted to include the ability to show test results in their feature set. This should make it less of an inconvenience to show people that they have tested negative when entering hotel and airport premises. However, there is no efficient way to make sure that the provided test results are authentic. It is a crucial point of vulnerability to our disease control efforts.

When data is at risk.

Contact tracing apps also raise concerns about privacy. Some apps track information that users might not want to give. These apps often give permissions to share user location and Bluetooth connectivity. Other than this, these apps also often require personal information from the users. Health data is private. The new normal, however, requires people to reveal at least some of it before getting into an establishment. This flaw makes people even more hesitant to use contact tracing solutions in the first place.

Why MatriX-iPass™ Provides A Better Solution

MatriX-iPass™ is not a contact tracing app. Instead, it is a complete end-to-end health pass platform.

It is not merely for the medical institutions that provide vaccinations and disease testing services. Rather, it is useful for establishments like airports and hotels, and other premises where the crowd gathers.

It is secured with Blockchain technology and advanced AI

Since health data is private, MatriX-iPass™ ensures that it is completely secure. Currently, there is no safer way to store critical data than in a blockchain. In addition, the technology has embedded cryptography to keep data protected at all access points.

To make the solution even more secure, MatriX-iPass™ integrated AI. It helps keep an eye on anomalies such as unauthorized data manipulation or hacks. AI also helps scrutinize macro-level data to provide insights into how the battle against the disease is going.

It is unified in its implementation from point of issuance to the point of inspection.

The medical institutions will issue a MatriX-iPass™ health pass to everyone inoculated or tested for the disease. The goal is to cover only those with vaccines and who tested negative for the disease.
Low adoption rates, therefore, should not be as much of an issue for the platform as it is with a solution for tracing contacts. Government agencies and other organizations carry out the operations. These organizations include sectors like transport and tourism.

While the platform does have a mobile app, users do not even have to use them. Together with the test results or vaccination certificates, laboratories would issue a tamper-proof document to users. This lets them have the document verified and inspected even without using the app.

Using the app, inspectors can actively check to ensure that people entering premises (workplace, tourist destination, etc.) are all disease-free or vaccinated. And with the information stored in blockchain, the data is easily accessible, updated, and inspected at any point within the platform. This means users can have their health passes verified at any establishment that uses MatriX-iPass™.

It is a more proactive approach to curtailing the spread of communicable diseases.

With a powerful contact tracing app, the goal is to let people know that they might have encountered someone with a communicable disease. MatriX-iPass™, on the other hand, aims to prevent disease carriers from interacting with and therefore spreading the disease. With MatriX-iPass™ we can have a more cohesive and proactive effort in our quest to rid the global pandemic. It helps us keep the integrity of vaccine and test data so we can have confidence again to go out and participate in the economy.

Want HealthMatriX for your organization? Schedule a demo to see how it will help.