Exploring Blockchain’s Impact: Healthcare Use Cases

The rise of blockchain technology has been marked by its distinctive attributes, including its unparalleled transparency and immutability. These characteristics have positioned blockchain as an optimal solution for addressing challenges across diverse sectors such as finance, banking, insurance, energy, social media, supply chains, and notably, healthcare.

As the healthcare domain navigates the waves of technological advancements, there’s an earnest endeavor by institutions to harness innovations that streamline processes. Yet, given the sensitivity of patient data, it’s imperative that these innovations ensure data integrity and security. Following this, blockchain technology has been equipped with capabilities that can catalyze numerous enhancements within the healthcare domain.

This discussion sheds light on pivotal applications of blockchain in healthcare, encompassing:

• Blockchain’s Role in Healthcare Data Protection
• Medical Records via Blockchain
• Supply Chain Oversight in Healthcare with Blockchain
• Advancements in Genomic Research through Blockchain

Prior to delving into these applications, a foundational understanding of the concept of blockchain in healthcare is essential.

Understanding Blockchain Technology in Healthcare

In essence, when we reference “blockchain in healthcare,” we’re speaking to the integration of blockchain technology within health-related functions and challenges. The sector’s growing inclination towards blockchain stems from its potential to rectify prevalent challenges like data breaches or counterfeit medicines.

To underscore the urgency, consider that the 2020 Breach Barometer report unveiled breaches affecting over 41 million patient records. Furthermore, WHO data indicates up to 30% of medicines could be counterfeit in specific regions of Africa and Asia.

Market analysis further substantiates the promise blockchain holds: the healthcare blockchain market valuation stood at US $2.12 Billion in 2019 and is projected to ascend to approximately US $3.49 Billion by 2025.

Such figures underscore the sector’s need to remedy existing vulnerabilities, and blockchain presents itself as a formidable solution. This discussion will navigate through specific use cases and tangible instances that underscore blockchain’s transformative potential in healthcare.

Real-World Applications of Blockchain in Healthcare

Blockchain presents multifaceted solutions to the current challenges faced by the healthcare industry. In this overview, we elucidate four prominent applications of blockchain in healthcare, complemented by real-world exemplifications.

Blockchain’s Role in Safeguarding Healthcare Data

The pressing need to fortify medical data security is being increasingly addressed by blockchain applications in healthcare. The period between July 2021 and June 2022 saw 692 significant healthcare data breaches, during which vital information such as credit card details, banking specifics, and even genomic test records were compromised.

Blockchain’s unique capability to maintain a tamper-proof, decentralized, and transparent record of patient data makes it an indispensable asset for bolstering security in the healthcare domain. Despite its transparency, blockchain ensures privacy, using intricate encryption to preserve the confidentiality of medical records. Its decentralized structure promotes efficient and secure data sharing among patients, physicians, and healthcare entities.

AKIRI

Dedicated to the healthcare sector, Akiri offers a specialized network-as-a-service, ensuring the protected transfer of patient health data. Contrary to data storage systems, Akiri exclusively focuses on policy configuration and real-time verification of data sources and destinations. It guarantees that healthcare data remains accessible only to authorized entities at required moments.

BURSTIQ

With an emphasis on facilitating healthcare institutions to adeptly manage extensive patient data, BurstIQ’s platform is powered by blockchain technology. It allows data retention, sharing, selling, or licensing while adhering to HIPAA regulations. Owing to the comprehensive data on patients’ health and activities, BurstIQ can potentially aid in identifying prescription drug misuse, such as opioids.

MEDICALCHAIN

Aiming to preserve the integrity of health records, Medicalchain’s blockchain offers a unified and reliable source of patient information. It enables healthcare professionals, including doctors and laboratories, to access patient data, ensuring that the patient’s identity remains shielded from unauthorized entities.

GUARDTIME

Taking a global approach, Guardtime assists healthcare organizations and governments in integrating blockchain for cybersecurity measures. Playing a pivotal role in integrating blockchain into Estonia’s healthcare framework, the company has also partnered with a private healthcare provider in the UAE to reinforce its data privacy systems with blockchain.

Leveraging Blockchain for Efficient Medical Record Management

Inefficiencies such as lapses in care delivery and coordination contribute to nearly 16% of healthcare expenditures in the U.S.

Securing prompt access to patient medical records often strains staff and hampers timely patient care. Medical records anchored in blockchain provide a solution, streamlining this crucial process.

Thanks to its decentralized architecture, blockchain curates a consolidated ecosystem of patient data, accessible seamlessly by medical professionals, hospitals, pharmacists, and other stakeholders in healthcare. This system fosters improved diagnostic accuracy and facilitates tailored care plans.

Here are four noteworthy enterprises pioneering the integration of blockchain in medical record management:

AVANEER HEALTH

Endorsed by industry giants like Aetna, Anthem, and Cleveland Clinic, Avaneer champions blockchain to enhance healthcare’s operational efficiency. Their approach hinges on a public ledger that ensures seamless claims processing, secure healthcare data interchange, and consistently updated provider directories.

PROCREDEX

ProCredEx has designed a decentralized ledger to streamline the management of healthcare credentials data. With its irrefutable and permanently auditable data, it customizes data to fit distinct organizational criteria and can be shared with authorized collaborators.

Using exclusive validation engines and restricting access to only pre-approved entities, ProCredEx facilitates rapid and trusted credential verification, ensuring enhanced patient care and safety.

CORAL HEALTH

Coral Health employs blockchain to expedite care delivery, streamline administrative functions, and optimize health outcomes. By integrating patient data within the decentralized ledger, Coral Health fosters rapid coordination among medical professionals, researchers, lab technicians, and public health agencies. They also employ smart contracts to guarantee the accuracy of data exchanges and medical interventions.

PATIENTORY

Emphasizing comprehensive encryption, Patientory ensures the safe and swift sharing of patient data. Their platform empowers patients, healthcare entities, and medical practitioners to securely access, store, and disseminate vital information through blockchain. By centralizing patient data, Patientory accelerates the healthcare decision-making process.

(Also Read- Blockchain Technology In Healthcare: Medical Record Management Simplified)

Blockchain’s Role in Enhancing Medical Supply Chain Integrity

Understanding the genuine origin and handling of medicines is pivotal in ensuring the integrity of the medical supply chain. This chain serves as a critical bridge connecting research labs to the market.

Blockchain’s decentralized framework introduces a transformative approach to the pharmaceutical supply chain by ensuring unparalleled transparency throughout the product’s journey.

Upon the inception of a drug’s ledger, its origin point is recorded. Subsequently, every interaction – from handlers to locations – is chronologically documented until the product reaches the end consumer. This meticulous process even provides insights into waste management.

Here’s an overview of six enterprises leveraging blockchain to reinvent medical supply chain processes:

CHRONICLED

Specializing in blockchain infrastructures, Chronicled emphasizes chain-of-custody verifications. Their networks empower pharmaceutical entities to optimize the delivery of medicines, while also providing tools for law enforcement to detect anomalies, such as potential drug trafficking. Notably, Chronicled introduced the Mediledger Project, focusing on bolstering the safety, confidentiality, and efficiency of medical supply chains.

EMBLEEMA

Operating as a digital trial and regulatory analytics platform, Embleema accelerates drug advancement. They garner participants’ digital consent for secure and unaltered medical data aggregation, subsequently stored and assessed on their blockchain. By enabling patients to actively partake via the Virtual Studies Suite, Embleema contributes to hastening treatment access and enhancing medical safety.

BLOCKPHARMA

Prioritizing drug authenticity and traceability, Blockpharma employs an app to scrutinize the supply chain, validating shipment touchpoints. By empowering patients with knowledge about their medication’s legitimacy, Blockpharma, through its blockchain-anchored system, combats the proliferation of counterfeit medicines, which constitute roughly 15% of global medicinal products.

TIERION

Tierion leverages blockchain to conduct rigorous audits of documents, records, and medications, preserving a transparent ownership history. Utilizing timestamps and authentication markers, Tierion ensures continued proof of ownership across the medical supply spectrum.

DEBUT INFOTECH

Offering blockchain development services, Debut Infotech focuses on the healthcare sector’s unique needs. Their solutions concentrate on ascertaining drug authenticity by tracing their lineage, complemented by advanced data encryption protocols.

FARMATRUST

FarmaTrust employs blockchain technology to enhance pharmaceutical tracking, validate the genuineness of medical equipment, and safeguard patient data during vaccination appointments and diagnostic evaluations. Through their advanced services, the firm effectively combats counterfeit drugs in the supply chain. Additionally, they provide a consumer-centric application, allowing users to verify the authenticity of their medications.

(Related Read-Blockchain in Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: The Next Big Frontier)

Innovations in Genomic Research through Blockchain

The transformative promise of genomics in reshaping human health, once envisioned, is today’s scientific and economic actuality. The cost of genome sequencing plummeted from a staggering range of $100 million to $1 billion in 2001 to under $1,000 by 2021.

Blockchain seamlessly integrates with this burgeoning sector, adeptly managing vast arrays of genetic data points. This technology has even paved the way for a novel marketplace where individuals can offer their encrypted genetic data, granting researchers unprecedented access to invaluable data at unprecedented speeds.

Here’s a closer look at three pioneering companies leveraging blockchain to decode the intricate foundation of human existence:

SHARECARE

Post its 2021 acquisition of doc.ai, Sharecare harnessed augmented engineering capabilities to pioneer a decentralized research infrastructure. Their platform, Smart Omix, streamlines the process for researchers to design, refine, and initiate mobile-based studies. Beyond safeguarding patient data, Smart Omix integrates with wearable technology to harvest data and implements features such as e-consent to expedite research.

NEBULA GENOMICS

With a vision to eliminate superfluous expenditures and intermediaries in genomic studies, Nebula Genomics deploys distributed ledger technology. By establishing a vast genetic data repository, the firm encourages users to securely offer their encrypted genetic information, circumventing the billions spent by pharmaceutical and biotech giants on third-party data procurements.

ENCRYPGEN

EncrypGen’s Gene-Chain, bolstered by blockchain, is a platform tailored for the sourcing, dissemination, storage, and transaction of genetic data. Prioritizing user confidentiality, it permits only member entities to acquire genetic data through the secure and traceable medium of DNA tokens. These acquisitions empower member firms to augment their genetic insights and catalyze industry advancements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the transformative synergy of genomics and blockchain is reshaping the landscape of human health and research. Blockchain’s innate security and transparency offer unprecedented advantages in the safekeeping and management of vast genetic datasets.

As the demand for such innovative solutions grows, it becomes imperative to collaborate with top blockchain development companies. Debut Infotech, with its wealth of experience in the domain, stands at the forefront of this technological evolution.

The firm’s proficiency in offering exceptional services solidifies its reputation as a leading blockchain development company, prepared to meet the dynamic needs of the genomic research community.