Aretaeio Hospital: Introduces Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 Digital Vaccination Certificate Platform

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Aretaeio Hospital as one of the largest private hospitals in Cyprus, as well as a pioneer in the healthcare industry not only for Cyprus but for the whole of Europe, continues to invest once again in the era of digital transformation.

Following the integration of a platform that offers patients direct and secure access to their laboratory tests via mobile devices, it also incorporates the digital vaccination certificate for Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19.

As of 4/1/21, a significant number of doctors and staff of Aretaeio Hospital have received the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccination for COVID-19 and will receive the digital vaccination certificate on their mobile devices through the E-HCert mobile application.

Since the platform has already been established, it will be recognized by the whole world.

Later this month, the app will also be available to the general public in order to receive their digital certificates of laboratory results. The mobile app uses Vechain ‘s platform which is based on public blockchain security technology.

Aretaeio Hospital joins the digitalization and blockchainization Era by offering E-HCert to its patients/visitors

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The clinical laboratories of Cyprus produce large volumes of data, including extensive paper trails relating to lab test results for patients. The system currently relies on ‘Laboratory Information Systems’ (LIS) that helps specialists manage data resulting from a series of complex tests and activities.

The current process contains multiple deficiencies. Firstly, the patient has to wait days for the completion of all tests prior to receiving results. In addition, the hospital laboratory has to contact the patient, deliver physical test results whilst the patient has to then maintain a hard copy of the results in good condition to ensure access to subsequent healthcare services.

As healthcare systems undergo rapid integration with new digital tools, the need for compliance with data privacy policies such as GDPR becomes increasingly vital. Conversely, patients need a legally compliant, private and secure method to view and share their own health information.

Blockchain technology represents the best opportunity to radically reshape the current paradigm and change the delivery of healthcare, test results, therapeutics, diagnostics as well as advance the process and security of information exchange between parties.

E-HCert and VeChain as an Instrument for Patient, Hospital & Government

E-HCert represents a new category of healthcare record system that combines interoperability, immutability, traceability and compliance. For Aretaeio Hospital, after the patient takes a lab test, results will be automatically uploaded to the E-HCert application and the VeChainThor public blockchain. Built on VeChain ToolChain™, the E-HCert wallet can be securely accessed using private credentials given to the patient after a registration process in the Hospital. Once complete, the data is readily accessible to its owner, available for use to prove his or her health status as required.

The solution also provides a blockchain-based Web Portal that allows doctors to request the medical records of patients, creating a trusted and transparent communication mechanism between physician and patient.

The platform maintains GDPR compliance by ensuring personal data remains under full control of the owner, granting access to government authorities, employers or other parties at the sole discretion of the owner whilst massively reducing the risk of accidental third party exposure.

From January 2021, The E-HCert App will be used by Aretaeio Hospital for all laboratory tests, from COVID-19 to routine blood work, predictably serving over 100,000 people a year. Together with I-Dante and VeChain will be a leading force in the transformation of the European healthcare sector.

Call for Needs

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Would you like to contribute in an innovative and exciting project involving eHealth in the framework of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)?

The needs inventory is an important part of the project as it determines the direction of the pilot project that will be launched later in the project. Do you see a need that needs to be met? Take your chance to influence and contribute in the project!
The CHERRIES project aims to find new, innovative solutions to meet health challenges. Right now, we are investigating what needs are linked to the eHealth solutions for remote and rural areas patients especially in the period of the pandemic.

Why eHealth solutions for health and medical professionals? 

Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean boasts of a plethora of rural and remote idyllic landscapes with villages and communities spread in mountainous areas and seashores. A significant amount of the population of the island lives in these areas whilst the majority of them are adults or elderly. Their healthcare needs are growing over time and the commute for even simple diagnostics or basic medical treatment is becoming increasingly demanding and difficult, especially in the pandemic era where restriction measures and social distancing are strict and inevitable. 

Health care in the Republic of Cyprus has been improving substantially with the recent long-anticipated implementation of a comprehensive National Health -care System, which is set to make the sector more streamlined and cost effective.

Major challenges face today’s health care system for which health professionals including public and private hospitals and clinics, must be prepared. There is an immense need for better coordination, communication, and more efficient processes within the hospital but also with the patient experience as well as other key stakeholders of the health care ecosystem. In addition, we have both a culture and organization of care that separate our care into distinct systems such as hospitals, home care, skilled nursing facilities, with little formal communication, relationships, or collaboration between and among those settings

We are looking for specific eHealth needs that clearly define the problems and hurdles that individuals or organizations are currently facing in providing high quality medical and health care services. Transforming systems in a way that would give patients and health professionals more of an active role, as users of new technology in the care continuum, is a priority.

The main territorial support actors of the business and innovation ecosystem are CyRIC-the certified EU|BIC of Cyprus and Aretaeion Private Hospital (AIK)

What is a need in this project?

Needs in project CHERRIES can be defined as requirements linked to people feeling good and functioning in their daily lives. Needs are challenges or shortcomings that we can change for the better and thus affect people’s health, at group or societal level. What we are looking for is therefore not the needs of individuals but needs that affect several people.

However, the identified need should also lead to increased quality and/or reduced cost in healthcare. For example, it may be that the situation of the target group will be better if the need is met with some type of intervention, inside or outside the health care system. This can also reduce the cost of care.

Why should we identify needs?

In the CHERRIES project, a pilot project will be carried out. The pilot project aims to test an innovative solution to meet an identified need. So we first want to find out the needs to know what the pilot project will try to solve.

Who can report a need?

The CHERRIES project takes a clear bottom-up perspective when developing new solutions to meet health challenges. This means that we want organizations as well as individuals and professionals who are directly or indirectly concerned by an issue to be involved in influencing. The opportunity to describe a need is therefore open to healthcare organizations, healthcare individuals and professionals and healthcare stakeholder organizations, private individuals, persons involved in civil society and officials within, for example, the municipality or region. 

How do I report a need? 

The form contains a number of questions to fill out, which are essentially about:

  • Description of the need, its causes and effects
  • Which individuals/groups in society are affected
  • What a possible solution could lead to 

A good and detailed description will make it easier for us to understand what is at stake and thus assess the need.

Send us your entry by email by 30 November.

Submit a need

What happens next?

All needs reported via the form will be analysed and assessed. The assessment team will look, among other things, at the importance of the need, whether it affects many people, and whether it is possible to develop solutions and carry out a pilot project within the framework of the CHERRIES.

Any needs reported will help us increase our understanding of this issue, so even if the very need you report if not is the subject of a pilot project, it is valuable information for us in other work outside of this project!

I have more questions, who should I get in touch with?

For questions and information, please contact

Mr. Moyses Moyseos (EUBIC CyRIC): m.moyseos@cyric.eu 22282895

Mr. Stylianos Yiallouros (Aretaeion Private Hospital) : s.yiallouros@aretaeio.com 22200602