What Are the Advantages of Blockchain in the Field of Healthcare?

Currently, Blockchain is the hottest topic across the globe. Numerous studies have shown that blockchain technology in various industries can enhance productivity, increase overall performance and save cost.

Blockchain for healthcare can offer substantial prospects in developing safe, efficiently accessible, and dedicated health information systems.

According to the Mordor Intelligence report, the global healthcare blockchain market was valued at $2.12B in 2020. However, it is projected to reach $3.49B by 2026, with a CAGR of 8.7%.

Blockchain is already restructuring the data management for all healthcare services. Before we look into the advantages of Blockchain, let’s know what Blockchain is and envision the implications in the healthcare industry.

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a decentralized distributed ledger of all the transactions across a peer-to-peer network. It records transactions utilizing complicated algorithms and encryptions in chained blocks.

Blockchain has no central authority, and transaction records are stored and distributed to all concerned participants.

Its decentralized nature creates the transactions safe, tamper-proof, irreversible, and easily accessible to everyone in the system.

The Implications of Blockchain in the Healthcare Industry

Blockchain in healthcare can fix several problems, such as data protection utilizing patients’ information.

Every day the healthcare industry renders enormous data like medical records, lab test reports, clinical tests, hospital bills, etc.

Healthcare app development services can combine all these data with improving quality, protecting patients’ critical information from hackers. Blockchain also gives more authority to control over their data.

For instance, a mobile app development company can build secure healthcare that can incorporate patients’ medical and prescription records so that doctors can access them easily when treating a patient.

Advantages of Blockchain in the Healthcare

1. Improve Patient’s Electronic Health Records

Electronic health records patients’ health-related information in a digital format that multiple healthcare providers store.

These EHRs are crucial as they deliver a complete, precise, and accessible record of every patient’s medical treatment.

The health information system is not entirely secured, and there are possibilities of a patient’s data breach in EHRs.

However, implementing Blockchain fixes these flaws by merging EHRs and sharing ownership with the concerned parties with robust security and authentication features.

2. Robust Healthcare Security

Healthcare service providers are easy targets for hackers. Robust encryption and various security features of Blockchain can facilitate healthcare security. Decentralized storage lowers the damage that a single data violation can inflict.

Using cryptographic master keys, patients can unlock their health records data effortlessly and control their personal information.

3. Transparency in Streamlining Medical Supply Chain

We all have witnessed a lack of vital medical equipment and medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It highlighted the susceptibility of healthcare providers and the necessity to update the medical supply chain with transparency.

A Blockchain development company can create a potent, interactive, and secured blockchain app to handle the medical supply chain in the following ways-

• Planning
• Processing
• Reduce operating cost
• Data flow
• Manage and update inventory 

Blockchain technology can also predict the needs of medical supplies and comprise all the related data such as production, distribution, and warehousing information in a single immutable record that is saved securely.

4. Accepting Payments Via Cryptocurrency

Many blockchain use cases are associated with cryptocurrency payments in the healthcare industry. For instance, Blockchain can assist in obtaining medicines and medical equipment and allow people to pay using cryptocurrency. Even hospitals are now accepting donations using cryptocurrency.

A family medicine & diabetes care medical group named Aveon Health acknowledges the use of cryptocurrency and accepts Bitcoin as payment.

People can send and receive Bitcoins electronically using wallet software for medical equipment and medicines.

5. Enhance Medical Research Process

COVID-19 has significantly affected the healthcare industry. The pandemic has also impacted medical research processes and critical clinical trials.

Clinical trials are essential as they discover new medicines, treatments, vaccines, and therapies for life-threatening diseases.

The healthcare industry can utilize blockchain-based techniques in medical examination to enhance the execution of clinical trials of new medicines.

Moreover, the robust security of Blockchain assures that the data of people participating in clinical trials cannot be modified or breached by unauthorized commodities.

6. Tracing Drug Legality Instantly

Blockchain presents a trustworthy solution to secure drug genuineness and traceability. It can save drug-related data at each stage, i.e., from making to distribution. It will also help to manage and regulate the movement of drugs efficiently. Businesses can also determine expired medicines, fake drugs, and duplicate medical products by using blockchain app development services.

Wrapping Up

Blockchain has the potential to change the healthcare industry from centralized and unorganized to decentralized and distributed systems. The technology could vastly improve healthcare structure and diminish administrative inefficiencies.

The use of blockchain development services in the healthcare sector will improve the authenticity and security of EHRs and deliver more control over patients’ data. It will also help in making healthcare services more accessible.

Author Bio: Tom Hardy has 10+ years of experience as a software developer in Sparx IT Solutions. He often writes blogs and journals to share his expertise in app development processes.