Blockchain In Healthcare: 5 Major Benefits And Applications

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Blockchain is one of the superior technologies that took the world by storm through its revolutionary work in data management and exchange traits. Its immense success across various industries has left many enterprises wondering if it’s the right time to implement Blockchain in their business. If you are one of them, the answer is yes. 

Blockchain for business is a necessity in various industries, including healthcare. A blockchain network in healthcare is used to preserve and exchange patient data through diagnostic labs, pharmacy firms, physicians, hospitals, etc. Experts call blockchain “the technology that can solve healthcare’s looming problem.” 

Recent surveys have shown that modern healthcare systems based on advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Blockchain can handle anything from secure encryption to pandemics. 

Let’s unpack the traits of Blockchain from the start.   

Blockchain was developed in 2008 as a core component of the digital currency “Bitcoin.” It is a distributed and decentralized “write-once-read-only” record of digital events shared in a peer-to-peer network in chronological order. 

Blockchain for business records transitions and exchanges in databases that can be distributed and shared across authorized users. What makes Blockchain different from other technologies is that users can neither alter nor delete any record. On top of that, no transaction can take place without the validation of all required users.   

The current healthcare infrastructure system has often been called inadequate to manage information exchange, requiring specific tweaks. Blockchain has worked beyond the “innovation trigger” and completely changed how data and healthcare can be viewed together. 

Since healthcare deals with confidential medical data and requires private access to information, Blockchain can readily streamline the medical records and enable sharing in a secure way. Thus, the technology alone offers scalability, security, and data privacy. 

This is probably why the global Blockchain in healthcare market size is expected to reach $489.8 million by the end of 2022. 

As a healthcare enterprise, you do not need first-hand expertise with the technology; that’s where Blockchain development services come into action. However, you must be familiar with what Blockchain can do for you. Let’s take a look at significant use cases of Blockchain in healthcare.   

One of the significant challenges across the healthcare sector is ensuring the provenance of surgical goods to confirm their authenticity. You can use a blockchain system to track items from the manufacturing point and get complete visibility of the goods purchased at each stage through the supply chain. 

This should be a top priority for healthcare markets where counterfeit prescription medicines cause thousands of deaths. Healthcare must also keep track of medical devices, not just medicines, since more and more customers are looking to adopt remote health monitors.   

Many healthcare enterprises such as pharmaceuticals, wholesalers, insurers, and health providers authenticate their identities as organizations. They also log contract details and payment settlement details and track transactions of goods and services. 

Shared smart contracts are used for medical insurance where most of the claims are disputed. 

This application is very similar to tracking medical goods and services. With blockchain records, you can also track the experience of medical professionals where reliable medical institutions can log the staff credentials and, in turn, help streamline the hiring process for healthcare organizations. 

Patients and their healthcare providers usually have an incomplete view of medical histories. One Potential solution to this problem is creating a blockchain-based system for health records that can be linked to existing electronic medical record software systems. This makes a single arch view of the patient’s medical history. 

With blockchain ledger, every time there is an amendment to the patient record, the data is logged on to the system as a transaction. The data stored as a unique hash function can only be decoded if the owner of the data gives their consent.   

Remote monitoring solutions are currently one of the biggest trends where all kinds of sensors measuring patients’ vital signs are used for better medical visibility. This helps practitioners offer preventive and proactive care.  

These remote monitoring medical sensors rely on IoT (Internet of Things) for smart connectivity and Blockchain for security and authenticity. Blockchain cryptography ensures that only permitted users can gain access to personal data stored in blockchain ledgers.

The use cases and benefits mentioned above are in the stage of full implementation in the healthcare systems. With such wide-ranging possibilities, more and more healthcare enterprises are looking for reliable blockchain development services to transform the big data medical landscape. Now the question stands, Is your healthcare business ready for Blockchain?