Impacts of Blockchain in Healthcare Industry
Introduction
As the name suggests blockchain, consists of various blocks twisted together. Blockchain refers to the public digital ledger, decentralized, and distributed to record transactions through various computers to ensure that records involved are not altered. It is also referred to as distributed ledger technology (DLT) that makes the history of all digital assets transparently using cryptographic and decentralizing hashing. Specifically, it is a more revolutionary and promising technology since it helps to reduce fraud, risks, and ensures transparency. Currently, the healthcare industry is facing many challenges an example being human error which has led to so many deaths. Other challenges include lack of transparency in the drugs and medicine supply chain, dispersity of medical information, and security. Therefore, the invention of this technology will help to solve several digital challenges that include; transparency, security, immutability, innovation, and reduced transaction cost. Today, Blockchain technology has become a popular phenomenon.
Healthcare is one of the industries that blockchain is expected to make a difference and especially in data management. Blockchain can make transactions of medical data more secure, transparent, and efficient throughout the healthcare sector. The technology can also help in the establishment of Blockchain medical records hence eliminating unnecessary administrative costs and allowing proper utilization of health data. Additionally, Blockchain technology can solve many issues that the healthcare sector experiences. Being a reliable and secured digital ledger, blockchain is capable of transforming healthcare in the future. Also, the scope of technology is enormous in the healthcare sector. The technology has the potential to give the first-hand solution to the existing problems in the healthcare sector. Additionally, it is an online permanent record of exchanges that can be shared between a network of computers. Blockchain will help remove the third party in accessing the patient database and also save time and resources in verifying the trustworthiness of the members. Additionally, the user’s transaction is added directly to the ledger hence eliminating middlemen who facilitate such transactions. More importantly, it allows transparency, secure data tracking, peer-managed, and creates a chronological database for the public. Moreover, technology can disrupt healthcare by providing unprecedented data efficiency. It also ensures interconnection and flexibility in accessing data. Incorporating this technology in the healthcare industry will have a greater impact not only to the patients but also to the entire organization. Major healthcare industry problems involve data interoperability, the keeping of medical records, patient identifiers, and the right chain for supplying drugs. Incorporating Blockchain technology in the medical sector
Advantages of Blockchain Technology in the Healthcare Sector
Decentralized system
The decentralized system in the blockchain makes it hard to be hacked and therefore, it inhibits all copies of data in the medical sector from being compromised. Therefore, the commodity hardware can be commanded to operate on the decentralized systems hence eliminating every form of disaster and provide foolproof security. Similarly, the power saved can be help perform other concrete purposes such as finding methods of disease treatment, drugs, and many more.
Single data source
Blockchain helps to extensively store and add in the chain every critical data transaction after all the participants confirm. Additionally, once data is recorded, it cannot be changed hence it provides authenticity and security. Also, once data are stored, nobody can change. It also assists longitudinal studies used in precision medicine advancement for effective treatment
Cost-effectiveness.
Blockchain is among the best cost-effective solution in the healthcare sector. The technology does not involve mediator systems and third parties to prevent them from fetching and moving data. Lack of this innovative system results in achieving high cost-effectiveness in this sector.
Powerful Monitoring and accessing data
In the healthcare industry, Blockchain can help to store and update valuable patient data such as sugar level, blood pressure, diabetes, and much more. The process can be performed over the internet of things among other wearables. It assists the health professionals to be able to monitor their patients at any time especially those at greater risk and take the right actions accordingly.
Consistency Rules through a smart contract
A smart rule is a computer protocol that facilitates, verifies, and enforces negotiation digitally. A smart contract in healthcare helps to develop a consistent rule-based process for different organizations in accessing the patient’s data. Moreover, the apps are used extensively to scrutinize and view the crucial information.
Medical records integrity
Blockchain is a technology that can ensure the integrity of each medical record is performed in the right way. Blockchain can help store the medical records that cannot be changed. Moreover, the task is challenging and critical in the legal and medical point of view.
patient identification Single
Unfortunately, mismatch and duplication of the patient’s record in the health industry occur recurrently. To avoid this from reoccurrence, using Blockchain technology will make it possible for single patient identification (Anurag, 2020). Luckily, blockchain ensures that manipulation of data is not possible since it has various layers of many addresses and the solutions to the information of every single patient.
Business model changes
Blockchain technology is among the best innovations with enormous potentiality in changing the model of the entire business hence giving a new edge of a business. Businesses are now able to make new models of business and incorporate the tools too.
Storage capacity
In the healthcare industry, blockchain helps to keep copies of the patient’s records, medical records, data documents, x-rays, images, lab tests, and lots more.
Blockchain technology can easily help the health sector with the issues of data management. The technology can help to make Blockchain medical records reachable and identical. It is an advantage to both patients and the doctors since the health and treatment records are accessible whenever needed. It is important to note that the use of Blockchain technology will help to bring medical records closer to us. For a very long time, the healthcare industry has been struggling with problems of managing human data. However, to ensure transparency and security of medical trials, Blockchain can give a solution to all these. Additionally, Blockchain technology can help address issues of fraud. Blockchain has countless significance in the healthcare industry.
Major Areas Influenced by Blockchain in the Healthcare Industry
Patient Data Integrity.
The use of Blockchain technology has helped to maintain healthcare records bringing to an end such problems as unique patient identifiers hence decentralizing the patient’s record. Insufficient techniques of a unique patient identifier, electronic health records have been counted responsible for causing scams in patient care. Blockchain technology has played a significant role in identifying the patients through their crypto and hash value algorithms.
Clinical Trials.
Data integrity has significantly affected the scholars and the researchers by providing solutions following the history of their records. It also helps them to follow the treatment plans and provide clinical drugs from their history of records (Arya, 2019). Additionally, it has made a platform for patients by offering a network of discovered and proved curative drugs for the treatment of the disease. For instance, medical scams in various countries have occurred due to clinical trials. Unfortunately, a great percentage of clinical trials are not informed to the patients. Therefore, blockchain technology can help to finish these flaws by ensuring that the healthcare industry systems are under one roof. A decentralized platform of an industry helps to maintain rules and regulations, and proper standards.
Transparency in Tracing the Supply Chain.
Many scams that occur in the medical sector are caused by breaking the chain of supply of drugs, medicines, and other products. Implementing blockchain will help to increase trust among individuals and the manufacturers will also be able to track their stock in the retail market. For those harmful drugs and medicines whose expiry dates have reached, pharma regulators will help to deploy them into waste to prevent patients from being served with them (Grace, 2019). Through blockchain technology, pharma manufacturers will be able to track their supply chain and ensure retailers purchase the right drugs. More importantly, the implementation of blockchain in the health sector can help nullify counterfeit and fraudulent deeds in the supply chain of drugs. Blockchain ensures transparency in the decentralized network users therefore, medical care costs and scams can easily be monitored to ensure the whole healthcare industry has been regulated.
Billing
The healthcare complex data usually result in unintentional and intentional financial mistakes. However, billing fraud is a serious issue in the healthcare sector due to inadequate processes of detecting the occurrence of fraud. Today, healthcare can improve the security and billing auditability hence promote billing efficiency and payment processing.
Tracking flow of services.
When it comes to the flow of services, some issues like claims, medical and insurance fraud, and donations often arise. For instance, medical fraud can claim lives, medical donations can go to the wrong hands, and lots more (Redka, 2018). All these are covered by poor transparency. Blockchain will help to rescue all these problems since the events are elevated for genuineness starting from the insurance claims to the care provided.
It is important to note that blockchain can help to improvise an improved healthcare environment for both patients and medical professionals. Implementing Blockchain in healthcare will help to solve such challenges like; Transparency; Blockchain technology is the most effective innovation that ensures transparency in the healthcare industry, it ensures that every transaction is verified publicly and recorded. Security; thee technology ensures that transactions and critical data are used across the systems extensively. However, a centralized database is not included hence security assurance. Innovation; innovation is another great challenge in the industry. Blockchain creates room for creativity and innovation. Immutability; Blockchain ensures the transaction and data recorded are not altered by anyone including systems admin hence a greater advantage. Reduced transaction expenses; the technology ensures the transaction is a peer to peer. It eliminates the interference of third parties including banks.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that is extensively used to record transactions in various computers. It can disrupt the healthcare sector since it is capable to effectively provide unprecedented data. Additionally, it ensures flexibility in accessing data and transparency. Blockchain technology as a digital application it has been proved to give a new face of the industry. Despite the challenges the hospitals go through, the implementation of this technology will help manage the patient data and also track drugs and medicine through the chain of supply. By doing so, the technology will have solved these industry’s biggest digital challenges. Implementing Blockchain in the healthcare sector can raise the whole healthcare industry from the heath of the patients to people’s healthy lifestyle. Additionally, Blockchain has become so crucial for the industry. The various factors that have made it so include; decentralized systems, cost-effectiveness, singe data source, use of smart rules, supply chain management, single patient identification, and lots more. Additionally, Blockchain has helped in issues of services that usually occur in the healthcare industry. It ensures efficient ways of storing health data records. It also promotes payment processing to prevent billing fraud.
References
Anurag. (2020, April 13). Impact of blockchain on the healthcare industry. Retrieved from https://www.newgenapps.com/blog/impact-of-blockchain-on-the-healthcare-industry/#:~:text=Blockchain%20can%20be%20used%20to,and%20legal%20point%20of%20view.
Arya, S. (2019). How can Blockchain Healthcare Solution benefits hospitals and patients?
Grace, E. (2019, July 23). Blockchain technology will help to safeguard data integrity in the healthcare sector. Retrieved from Here is why blockchain will have a big impact on the healthcare industry: https://e27.co/impacts-of-blockchain-in-healthcare-20190723/
Redka, M. (2018, November 15). Blockchain and Healthcare: Use Cases Today and Opportunities for the Future. Retrieved from https://mlsdev.com/blog/blockchain-and-healthcare-use-cases-today-and-in-the-future