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Blockchain In Healthcare

Blockchain is a cutting-edge technology and it has the potential to transform the healthcare industry. It solves the long-term problems in healthcare within organizations. Combining Blockchain and Healthcare will provide next-level security, privacy, and accessibility to patients’ health data.

Challenges in Healthcare

  • Not unified and scattered patient records across stakeholders, departments, and systems. Until now, patients are provided with medical records via paper copies or electronic hard disk copies. These cause inefficiencies like
      • Records should be prepared, delivered, and picked up within 30 day
      • Records may be lost or stolen.
      • Patients may have difficulties accessing their records.
  • It has complex data storage systems.
  • Data security and privacy concerns. According to the IBM, data breach report $10.10 million is considered to be the total cost of data breaches in the healthcare industry.
  • Only limited access to people or patients’ health records.
  • Challenges in sharing large datasets electronically in areas with limited bandwidth and restricted firewalls.

The Blockchain Applications for Healthcare

Blockchain in Healthcare lets streamlines record management without security issues. Blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and immutable ledger where all the transaction data are stored as separate blocks which are linked together in chain-like forms. It allows sharing of information without any necessity for intermediaries. The data stored in the blockchain are like patients’ medical records, transactions, individual patient information, or anything else.

The most important use case of blockchain in healthcare is patient information security. All healthcare information is stored in EMR(Electronic Medical Record). Once it is added to EMR, the data will be encrypted and stored in Blockchain. Another benefit of implementing blockchain in healthcare is managing supply chains. With blockchain, each process in the supply chain will be tracked such as from the beginning of manufacturing till it reaches the end user.

It also helps track the patients receiving the right medical drugs. In addition to that, it streamlines the contracts and payments in the supply chain. More than that its applications like a clinical trial, and patient monitoring, improves safety, display of information, and transparency.

Below the applications are explained.

Supply Chain Transparency

Counterfeiting medicines and drugs will cause greater damage. The most important feature of blockchain in healthcare for the supply chain is traceability. Every individual product could be traced. From manufacturing to the pharmacy, every process is transparent. Hence the result is tamper-proof. Also, prescription monitoring is easier with the transparent system of Blockchain.

Security of patient records and others

Healthcare data have a high chance to get hacked. But implementing blockchain would prevent the illegal handling of patient details, medical records, payments, and insurance claims. The transactions that are patient records are visible, and they will be private. The individual identities will never get leaked or visible.

Prevention of Healthcare Fraudulent

The major inefficiency of healthcare is patient billing. Healthcare fraud has a straight negative impact on medical care usage. It wastes limited resources and put the patient at risk. Automating claim adjudication with the help of smart contracts in blockchain can be more accurate and easier on the patient.

Medical Verification

The most challenging in healthcare is storing the patient’s data in EHR. Blockchain will help in this process. The information can be stored safely in the blockchain. This information is shared between doctors, patients, pharmacists, and healthcare providers. Having all information in one platform will be easier to update and view. But the patient’s identities are secured and can’t get lost easily. Overall, blockchain in healthcare improves security, integrity, and interoperability.