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Fonteum Data GlossaryTech

Attestation: Definition and Healthcare Context

Full name: Cryptographic Data Attestation

An attestation is a signed statement about an identified object. It can make later changes to that object detectable when the digest, signature, public key, and covered bytes are all available. Fonteum's attestation coverage is not universal: no provenance fact linked deterministically to a signature in the July 12 audit, and a signature does not establish that the underlying facts are correct or current.

Source file
Not reported
Published
Not reported
Retrieved
Not reported
Snapshot
Not retained for this reference page
Data as of
Not reported
Last updated: 2026-07-11Reviewed by: Dr. Jennifer Montecillo, MD — Gullas College of Medicine, 2019. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

How it’s used

  • Some snapshot-attestation rows store a digest and Ed25519 witness signature; coverage must be checked for the specific object.
  • Chain fields can be inspected where present, but they do not establish universal row history or claim-level signature linkage.
  • Fonteum stored 162 OpenTimestamps proof records; none passed the July 12 independent Bitcoin-mainnet validation, so stored status and block-height fields are not external confirmation.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cryptographic attestation?
A cryptographic attestation is a signed, timestamped statement that specific data existed in a specific form at a specific time, made tamper-evident by hashing the data and signing the hash.
How is an attestation different from saying data is correct?
An attestation does not claim the underlying facts are accurate. It attests only to what was received from a source and when, so the captured bytes can be re-derived and the signature checked later.
What signs Fonteum's attestations?
Some identified snapshot objects have Ed25519 attestation rows. Coverage is object-specific, no provenance fact currently links deterministically to those signatures, and the stored OpenTimestamps records are not independently mainnet-confirmed.

Related terms

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How Fonteum sources, resolves, and publishes data tied to this term.

Authoritative sources

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What’s on file, by the numbers

Platform snapshot · 2026-08-23

13.4Mproviders & companiesProviders, organizations, owners, and facilities on file
26.2Msource-linked factsSource-linked field facts in the dated platform snapshot
90sources with dataDistinct snapshot source IDs with at least one positive record count
70fresh sourcesDistinct source IDs whose latest positive-data snapshot falls within the preceding 45 days
111sources integratedActive registry rows; integration does not establish a load
13state Medicaid jurisdictionsDistinct states represented in the state-exclusions serving table

Integrated, with-data, and fresh-observation counts are separate. No platform-wide source-completeness count is published. Completeness is source-specific and must be evaluated against the named source's expected scope. State coverage is a separate jurisdiction measure.

Source authority is record-specific

Use the issuer named on the record.

Fonteum spans federal, state, and global public publishers. A source page or returned record identifies its issuer and dataset where that metadata is available. A platform registry count does not assign every page to one authority or establish loaded, fresh, or complete coverage.

Browse source records and their stated limitations →

Reproducible by design

Inspect the evidence each published figure actually supplies.

Source and date

Research pages expose the named public file and observation date where those fields are available. Source-file SHA-256 coverage is separate; facts do not currently link deterministically to signatures.

Available derivation

Studies with a retained release and committed derivation link the SQL or method used. Other studies state the evidence and reproduction limits they actually have.

Daily observations

Dated table row-count observations can detect local drift. They do not imply that an upstream publisher released or Fonteum ingested new data that day.

Named medical review

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

Read the full provenance and attestation methodology →

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