Introduction of Blockchain in the Healthcare Systems

Introduction of Blockchain in the Healthcare Systems

Most folks are fixated with cryptocurrencies until they end up forgetting the underlying tech of it all, the blockchain. By now, it should be obvious that the potential of blockchain technology is a realm that will take us ages before we explore all its perks. Tech aficionados refer to the blockchain as the “Ocean” of the tech world, as it sure feels that we haven’t touched on 95% of its capabilities.

Well, before we go off topic, the astonishing dawn of the coronavirus has fretted nationalists in China. In the past week, other countries have started to take caution as they fear the spread of the epidemic. In this mitigation period, experts in China have resulted in blockchain technology to circumvent their way around the chaos that’s alarming their country.

We always knew the blockchain could (or has already, in some states) be integrated into the healthcare industry. A lot of conferences have happened where developers from around the world have discussed how blockchain tech and AI could be the future of all industries. This real time application of blockchain technology to dial down the spread of the virus is the first use case that has caught the attention of everyone in the fintech industry.

In that note, let’s have a look at how blockchain technology could be instrumental in the healthcare industry:

How blockchain technology is used in healthcare

Numerous aspects of the blockchain technology, like the immutability of the data stored in the blockchain, is drawing attention to the healthcare sector. There are talks about how this technology can help improve insurance claims, medical record management, and in accelerating the biomedical and clinical research. These are all expectations with their basis on the ability of this blockchain technology to decentralize management, data provenance, immutable audit trail, and improve the privacy and security of data.

Now that we have seen the scope of blockchain in healthcare, it is interesting to check out all its possible applications.

Supply chain management

With the healthcare systems, the supply chain is both drawn out and secure. Once the drugs are manufactured, they are transferred to the wholesale distributors. These distributors then transfer them to retail companies that sell the products to customers.

Here is a huge threat to the authenticity of the drugs that reach consumers as counterfeits have a window to easily enter into the market. The inclusion of blockchains in healthcare brings with it an excellent solution to all these issues at once.

Check drug ingredients: with blockchains, manufacturers can keep track of the ingredients they use in the drug. This ensures that all the ingredients are within recommended medical standards.

Blockchain offers traceability of counterfeit drugs: with this technology, it will be easier for pharma organizations and healthcare providers to get rid of counterfeit drugs. TAllows manufacturers to trace all drugs and find the perfect source for the counterfeiting.

The integrity of medical records

As far as the integrity of medical records, blockchain is an essential part. It allows the safe storage of produced medical records allowing the production of absolute proof as the records cannot be changed.

This is a huge step because the integrity of medical records is crucial for legal and privacy purposes.

Treatment regimen

With blockchains, health care providers have an excellent platform to perform medical research. Through validated access, researchers can access the patients’ data and study the impact of treatment over a specific period over. This makes it easier to sieve through a large number of patients treated each day.

These forms of research allow substantial outcomes that ensure significant improvement in the treatment methodologies and the patient population sections.

Single patient identification

In healthcare, it is not rare to find that some patient records have been duplicated. The jobs are even tougher when you consider the various EHRs that bring out new ways to manipulate the simplest of data. With blockchains, the data is hashed into a different ledger, and you get numerous keys and addresses. However, each of those will provide you with one patient identification and all their treatment information.

Settlement claims

Medical settlement claims take a long time, and it makes the healthcare industry unreliable. With smart contracts in blockchains, there are well-defined terms and conditions for contracts between the provider and payer that clear misunderstanding. Thus, a reduction in the time needed to settle claims.

These come into effect when the claims get submitted. They are often followed by the procession of the claims in real-time. Lastly, all payments are transmitted to providers without issues.

Business model changes

When integrated with new models, blockchain can create new business models for healthcare.

Here are some of the examples of how the blockchain changes the stakeholder’s business models:

Pharma companies

With the blockchain platform, it is easy for pharmaceutical companies to have real-time data of medical products and treatments. This allows them to customize each for specific patient needs.

Pharmacies

Pharmacies will have an easier job as they will have all the data they need available for them. With the data, they can effectively guide patients on how to use drugs.

Healthcare professionals

Whether you are a doctor or a nurse, blockchain will make it easier to diagnose conditions and treat base on the data they get from their patient information.

Nonetheless, real-time data is collected with wearables that keep healthcare providers aware of the patient’s stage and alert them in case there are emergencies.

The Blockchain Already in Use to Fight Coronavirus

Coronavirus has been poised short of becoming a pandemic. China has, therefore, embraced the use of blockchains to manage medical data, track prevention material supplies, and collect public opinion.

For this reason, at least 20 blockchain applications have been launched within the first half of February 2020. Some of the launched platforms are strictly for raising funds to deal with the coronavirus epidemic.

Therefore, through blockchain, donors can track their donations to various stages until when the money is allocated to purchase certain medical equipment. Additionally, other blockchains have also generated mobile apps that ensure efficiency and transparency.

This system also helps in recording, tracing supplies, logistics, and demand of prevention provisions epidemic, and analysis. With such information, it becomes easy for the Chinese government to allocate funds on specified medical items to fight the virus.

Conclusion

Introducing blockchain into the healthcare sector is among the most significant innovation. It has helped in shaping health provisions with minimal risk exposure for medical specialists. For instance, the stabilization of recent coronavirus in China through blockchain is a clear indication that there is still hope to better healthcare in the future.

However, there is still much that needs to be done to ensure maximum blockchain potential is applied to better healthcare. The developers are therefore required to work as hard and ensure they come up with systemic mechanisms to allocate and track funds.