1. 6 Use Cases of Blockchain in HealthcareUses
Not only the fintech people are buzzing about the potential of the latest buzzword,
blockchain, but its use and innovation have highly impacted many industries so far. Though
it is a relatively new technology, it can revolutionize various industry verticals when coupled
with other trending techs.
The healthcare sector has been no longer untouched by the wide range of applications and
uses cases of Blockchain cases. The current healthcare system is complex and includes
onerous processes.
The patients are continuously plagued by skyrocketing costs and inefficient practices. But,
hopefully, blockchain can ease the pain area. Statista reports that the US alone has spent
18 percent of its GDP on healthcare in 2020.
The stats show how expensive the healthcare sector is. With the implementation of
blockchain in healthcare, this rising cost can be addressed in the near future.
2. It also deflates the spending bubbles, blockchain securely encrypts, protects patients’ data,
manages the outbreak of harmful disease, and promises high probability of accurate
diagnosis.
While its applications of blockchain in the healthcare domain is rising day by day, here, you
will see how it is transforming the lives of caregivers and patients.
How is BlockChain reviving the healthcare industry?
While the use cases of blockchain cannot be counted on your fingertips, you will witness
how it benefits the entire healthcare value chain.
1. Improves Medical Record Health Access
Blockchain has proved itself to be the most efficient technology in patient data management.
A patient’s medical history plays a crucial role in diagnosing them with further aids.
MedRec, a system developed on Ethereum blockchain, gives the health agencies a
transparent and accessible view of their medical history.
It works on the (Proof of Authority POA) mechanism where it becomes effortless for the
doctors and patients to view the records because the information is stored in one place.
The entire process reduces the amount of time in treatment and results in no mistakes due
to human error.
2. Secures Patient Data
The foremost thing in the healthcare sector is to keep important medical data safe, secure,
and confidential. HIPAA Journal reports that over 176 million patients’ records have been
exposed in data breaches between 2009 and 2017.
3. With Blockchain technology’s help, any healthcare organization can keep a decentralized,
incorruptible, and transparent log of all the patient data. It locks the patients’ identity with its
complex and secure codes that protect the data’s sensitivity.
Blockchain being transparent and decentralized in nature, allows the healthcare providers
and patients to share the information safely and quickly. Companies like BurstIQ, Factom,
Medical Chain, and Guard Time are companies applying blockchain to the healthcare
industry.
3. Blockchain Medical Records Streamline Care And Prevent Cost
4. We often see that it becomes a time-consuming process for staff management to maintain
their medical records. Also, it delays patient care, but with Blockchain-based medical
records, you can quickly and efficiently diagnose and personalize healthcare plans.
Blockchain’s decentralized nature builds a single ecosystem of the patient’s medical record
allowing the doctors, pharmacists, and hospitals to view the information.
In this way, it results in quick and faster treatment of patients and allows them to choose
personalized care plans.
4. Medical Supply Chain Management And Drug Traceability
5. Customers are always in a puzzle about the authenticity of the medicines they purchase.
They doubt if it is being delivered from a legitimate supplier. Not only the patients, even the
medical supply chain face the same problem.
Blockchain’s decentralization feature ensures full transparency in the shipping process of the
pharmaceutical supply chain management. Let’s see how it works.
Blockchain creates a ledger that marks the origin where the drug is produced. After this, the
ledger will record the data at every step of the delivery cycle, including the person who is
handling it.
This complete process eliminates labor costs and makes the process quick and trustworthy
for suppliers and customers. Chronicled, BlockPharma, Tierion are a few of the
companies using blockchain to rethink the medical supply chain.
Chronicled, a custodian of MediLedger, built a blockchain-based network through which
they can verify if the pharma supply chains meet the specified standard with the local
regulations or not.
6. In brief, it traces back the origin of supplies. , eye on ill-intent activities such as drug
trafficking, maintains a forgery-proof record of transactions, and authenticate raw materials
to detect counterfeits.
5. Improve Patient-Doctor Interaction
Blockchain has proved itself a helping hand for physicians and healthcare providers to better
coordinate healthcare and manage control over the patients’ health data. Miscommunication
between the patients and caregivers accounts for 80 percent of serious medical errors.
7. Source
Taipei Medical University Solution introduced a blockchain-enabled solution for an ideal care
coordination system that provides its patients with a complete set of medical records. It also
delivers the patient with high-resolution medical images for better clarity, clinical and health
exam information, and lab results.
With an ideal care coordination system, medical professionals can access a person’s
medical history when conscious. Aside from this, blockchain-enabled solutions provide a
healthcare ecosystem for secure communication and monitor real-time treatment through
aggregated data sharing models.
6. Blockchain Solutions Stops Counterfeit Drugs
8. Reuters reports that tens of thousands of people die each year due to counterfeit drugs.
Counterfeit drugs are illegal drugs that contain contaminated and no active ingredients.
FarmaTrust’s blockchain and AI solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector
provides medicine tracking and data service. It ensures that the solution is working with the
guidelines established by the particular government or not.
The second step is the track and trace feature, which uses blockchain to manage the
inventory in-between. There is a Supply Chain Visibility that tracks the change or alteration
in drugs, if any. There is a Customer Confidence app at the final stage that allows the buyers
to view their medication’s lifecycle.
What does BIS Research say about the incorporation of blockchain
in healthcare?
BIS (Bureau of India Standard) provides market intelligence on deep technologies and
actionable information on different segments of the healthcare industry.
9. BIS Research reflects that the future of healthcare is indeed decentralized. It states that by
2025, the industry can save up to $100 billion per year in data-related costs, support
functions, operations costs, and insurance frauds.
The report reflects how blockchain is providing a horizontal boost to the industry that it
eagerly needs.
What are you up to?
While blockchain applications in healthcare will keep going in the long term, soon, we would
be asking ourselves how we ever survived without it. We need to change our business
process so that the blockchain process can work, connect, and pass on information more
securely in the healthcare domain.
Blockchain is still new, but its slow transactional performance has compelled most industries
to adopt it. It is revolutionizing the healthcare arena worldwide. By the time it is gaining
popularity, organizations in the healthcare sector are looking forward to partnering with
Blockchain consultants and adopting this technology in their projects.