Blockchain technology has several potential applications in healthcare: - It can decentralize healthcare data storage and prevent tampering with medical records. - It can help reduce fraud in pharmaceutical supply chains by allowing every drug dose to be traced from manufacture to administration. - It may improve healthcare delivery in developing regions like Africa by boosting data sharing and record keeping.

1. BLOCKCHAIN HEALTHCARE
SITUATION REPORT
BC/HC SITREP
Volume 2/Issue 19: 07 – 13 May 2018 Science Distributed (www.sciencedistributed.com)
BLOCKCHAIN HEALTH & SCIENCE
Welcome to the Health-Care Blockchain
The blockchain decentralizes data storage and prevents any outside tampering
with the data. Once something has been added to the blockchain, it can’t be
altered.
https://www.bna.com/welcome-healthcare-blockchain-b57982092534/
Blockchain to cut fraud in healthcare supply chains
Better track and trace means field agencies can have more confidence that
medications are real thing.
“The ability to trace the journey of an
individual dose of medicine from the time of
manufacture to the time it is administered
could have a significant impact on patient
safety and could dramatically reduce the
financial losses associated with
counterfeiting.” Bonnie Bain, Global Head of
Pharma at GlobalData
[Editor’s Comment: If we can trace every dose of medicine, we can
trace every data point of evidence used to support use of that
medicine. Think of it as a scientific data supply chain.]
https://www.charitydigitalnews.co.uk/2018/05/09/blockchain-will-cut-
pharma-fraud/
Staff Experience, Standards Impact Healthcare Blockchain Adoption
Healthcare blockchain may be slow to catch on due to the technology being so
different from other legacy health IT infrastructure solutions.
https://hitinfrastructure.com/news/staff-experience-standards-impact-
healthcare-blockchain-adoption
Blockchain technology tipped to boost healthcare delivery in Africa
Blockchain technology is a novel tool that can boost health care on the African
continent, an expert told The New Times on Tuesday.
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/blockchain-technology-tipped-boost-
healthcare-delivery-africa
WELCOME
It was a fantastic
inaugural Chain Event at
Georgetown this past
weekend, with students,
professors, admins, and
more learning about and
discussing blockchain
application in health
science (p2).
The biggest takeaway
was that it will take the
researchers themselves
leading pilot efforts to
appropriately design
them for health science.
Tech and business
leaders interested in
engaging the research
community would do
well to start a dialogue
for input before trying to
build the tech.
Don’t wait. Educate.
– Sean T. Manion, PhD
stmanion@gmail.com
Science Distributed
Better Science, Cheaper
Research, Faster Miracles

2. 30+ Real Examples of Blockchain Technology in Practice
While Bitcoin and cryptocurrency may have been the first widely known uses of blockchain technology, today, it’s far
from the only one. In fact, blockchain is revolutionizing most every industry. Here are just a few of the practical
examples of blockchain technology.
https://energynews.us/2018/05/07/midwest/blockchain-companies-take-aim-at-clean-energy-transaction-costs/
Executive Summary: Blockchain Health Science Research Symposium – 12 May, Georgetown University
A group of academic, government, and non-profit health science researchers and research administrators gathered at
the inaugural Chain Event at Georgetown University last Saturday. Science Distributed, Tuscany Strategy Consulting,
and Blockchain Blueprint presented this event, graciously hosted by Georgetown Business School Prof Gilles Hilary.
Participants were able to learn about and discuss different applications of blockchain technology to the health sciences.
Presenters from government, academia, and industry provided a day long look everything from high level vision to
ground level details to consider for application of distributed technology to science, including: data collection and
management, data provenance, intellectual property and work attribution, publishing, peer-review, proposal review,
meta-analyses, and research administration.
Speakers gave high level visions of the use of the technology on national and global scale for health improvements and
previously successful practical applications. Panel members gave insights into current or aspirational uses, along with
regulatory and other challenges. Science Distributed walked the group through the areas to consider for building a
blockchain for research:
• Starting with a network of researchers and administrators
• Design thinking to identify pain points for areas of application
• Data complexity and considerations for development of governance
• Review of available blockchain platforms, along with pros/cons to use
• These areas as framework to developing blockchains for piloting in health science
Chatham House Rule applied (share ideas, but no direct attribution) to enable open, off-the-record discussion by all
participants. Key takeaways:
• Blockchain has been successfully piloted for major time/cost reduction in administration
• Many organizations are looking at how it can be applied to healthcare and health sciences
• Researchers will first see application in administration and publishing where pilots are ongoing
• Data, process, and culture complexities in science make it a challenging industry
• Researchers working with tech and business to explore the application will bring the most value
The event ended with a foresight strategy session using participant input to anticipate the state of science in 2050 and
impact of blockchain and other emerging technologies on how it may develop. Results to be submitted for publication.
More Chain Events are coming to additional universities/cities. If you are interested in bringing one to a university near
you, contact Sean Manion (stmanion@gmail.com) for details and further discussion.
BLOCKCHAIN & HEALTH SCIENCE – UPCOMING EVENTS
GMU-AFCEA Symposium 2018: Critical Issues in C4I – 22/23 May, GMU, Fairfax, VA
The Center of Excellence in Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Intelligence, and Cyber brings academia,
industry, and government together annually to address important issues in technology and systems R&D
[Sean Manion will be presenting on how blockchain can be used as a ‘supply chain’ for scientific data
including an added dimension for level of evidence, and how this same model of data provenance and
reliability may be applicable to the process of gathering actionable and auditable intelligence.]
https://www.afcea.org/event/?q=GMU-Home
The Second Annual Healthcare Blockchain Summit – 11/12 Jun, Boston, MA
TCBI and Krysalis Labs present The Second Annual Healthcare Blockchain Summit. The Summit uniquely addresses the
power of blockchain-based platforms to transform healthcare systems and business practices.
[Sean Manion will be co-presenting with Heather Flannery (Blockchain in Healthcare Innovation
Global) on application of blockchain at different points across the research/translation process to
reduce the time it takes to go from a new treatment idea through testing to treatment and saving lives.]
http://tcbi.org/hcblockchainplatform/agenda/