Top 7 Real world examples of Blockchain in Healthcare

Blockchain is used in healthcare for a variety of purposes, including patient data security and pharmaceutical supply chain management.

 

It couldn't have come at a better moment. The United States spent about 20% of its GDP on healthcare in 2021, and expenditure is expected to rise as high hospital prices, inefficient practices, and frequent data breaches plague the business. These costly issues are fuelling a desire for increased efficiency and innovation.

 

Overview of Blockchain in Healthcare

 

Blockchain is one of the most visible of the ever-expanding list of tech buzzwords that appear in publications throughout the internet. In reality, there is a lot of excitement about the potential of Blockchain technology in the healthcare sector, but there are few actual examples of how it has been used in real-world healthcare settings.

 

Blockchain was originally designed for cryptocurrencies to eliminate the need for intermediaries such as hospitals while also protecting against high levels of fraud and theft.

 

Transparent and immutable record-keeping transactions are also important in the healthcare sector, such as purchase and shipping transactions in medical equipment and pharmaceutical supply chains, as well as tracking permits and staff access to facilities, medical records, or other health data.

 

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology because it reduces security risks, eliminates fraud, and increases transparency in a scalable manner.

 

Blockchain technology, which first gained popularity with bitcoin and NFTs, has subsequently expanded into a management solution for all types of worldwide enterprises. Today, blockchain technology is used to provide transparency in the food supply chain, secure healthcare data, innovate games, and change the way we handle data and ownership on a big scale.

 

Also Read | Understanding the Role of DLT in Healthcare

 

Pros of using Blockchain in Healthcare sector

 

Blockchains are distributed data management systems that record every transaction between users. These immutable digital documents employ a variety of strategies to establish a trustless, intermediary-free system.

 

Let's read about some of the benefits of blockchain in the healthcare sector 

 

1. Blockchain represents a significant departure from traditional approaches to data management.

 

A typical database stores data on a single central server (or network of servers), which is managed by a centralized database manager. Instead, Blockchain is a data management system in which an electronic ledger is associated and distributed across a peer-to-peer network without central management.

 

2. More Security

 

Cryptography and hashing techniques ensure that only authorized users may access information intended for them, and that data recorded on the blockchain cannot be altered in any way. Consensus measures, like as proof of work or proof of stake, improve security by requiring network participants to agree on the authenticity of transactions before adding them to the blockchain.

 

3. Administration of patient consent and data access permissions

 

Blockchain can be a transparent and auditable means for people to grant others access to their sensitive health data by utilizing their unique credentials and encryption key. This includes granting permission to healthcare professionals, service providers, and other relevant actors (such as researchers and social care providers) to access your medical records and other information in order to provide direct healthcare or to conduct research, statistics, or other secondary uses of your data.

 

4. Higher efficiency

 

Aside from reducing paper, blockchain facilitates trustworthy cross-team communication, lowers bottlenecks and errors, and streamlines overall processes. Blockchain achieves lower transaction costs, faster processing times, and improved data integrity by eliminating intermediaries and automating verification procedures using smart contracts.

 

Also Read | 6 Applications of Blockchain in the Healthcare Sector

 

Real life examples of healthcare in blockchain

 

Blockchain's capacity to maintain an incorruptible, decentralized, and transparent record of all patient data makes it a perfect technology for security applications. Furthermore, while blockchain is visible, it is also private, masking any individual's identity behind complicated and secure protocols that can preserve the sensitivity of medical data. The technology's decentralized structure also enables patients, doctors, and healthcare professionals to share information rapidly and securely.

 

1. Novo Nordisk

 

With a century of experience, pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk conducts rigorous research and testing to verify the efficacy and safety of its therapies before making them available to patients worldwide.

 

By incorporating the Electronic Patient Interactive Device, or ePID, into clinical studies, Novo Nordisk hopes to make patient data collecting more convenient and secure. The company's software engineers have integrated blockchain technology with ePID's data gathering capabilities to ensure that medical information is not compromised or altered in any manner, hence protecting the clinical trial process's integrity. 

 

2. Akiri 

 

Akiri provides a network-as-a-service optimized specifically for the healthcare business, which aids in the protection of patient health data throughout transportation. The Akiri system does not save any type of data. It functions as both a network and a protocol, allowing you to create regulations and configure data layers while simultaneously verifying data sources and destinations in real time.

 

Akiri ensures that healthcare data is secure and shareable only with those who are authorized to access it at the time of need.

 

3. BurstIQ

 

BurstIQ's platform enables healthcare organizations to safely and securely manage huge amounts of patient data. Its blockchain technology enables data storage, selling, sharing, and licensing while adhering to rigorous HIPAA regulations.

 

BurstIQ's platform, which provides complete and up-to-date information about patients' health and healthcare activity, could aid in the prevention of opioid abuse and other prescription medication misuse.

 

4. Guardtime 

 

Guardtime assists healthcare organizations and governments in using blockchain technology into their cybersecurity strategies. The company was instrumental in implementing blockchain in Estonia's healthcare systems, and it has struck an agreement with a private healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates to integrate blockchain into its data privacy systems.

 

5. ProCredEx

 

ProCredEx has developed a distributed ledger for healthcare credentials data that improves complex dataset efficiency by making the data irreversible and forever traceable. It enables data to be curated to meet specific organizational needs and shared with authorized parties.

 

The platform employs patented validation algorithms and restricts membership to vetted and approved organizations, allowing health systems to quickly acquire verified credentials while promoting patient safety and care quality.

 

6. Coral Health

 

Coral Health employs blockchain technology to accelerate the medical process, automate administrative tasks, and improve health results. By incorporating patient data into distributed ledger technology, the company connects doctors, scientists, lab technicians, and public health officials more quickly than ever. Coral Health also uses smart contracts between patients and healthcare providers to ensure that data and treatments are reliable.

 

7. Patientory

 

Patientory's end-to-end encryption ensures that patient information is transmitted securely and effectively. The company's technology allows patients, healthcare providers, and physicians to access, save, and transmit all critical information via blockchain. Patientory enables the healthcare business to move faster by consolidating all patient information under one roof.

 

Final Words

 

Although these are only a few of the benefits and drawbacks of Blockchain, it is worth noting that this technology has fundamentally altered the way many industries, including healthcare, handle information security.

 

Furthermore, there are newer Blockchain solutions that provide better solutions than the original generation of Blockchain technology. For example, Ethereum addressed inefficiencies by transitioning to a stronger Blockchain technology solution that includes smart contracts and Proof of Stake (PoS), which is significantly more efficient than Proof of Work.