Blockchain Application in Healthcare
摘要
In healthcare, blockchains have emerged as a probable solution for various challenges especially those associated with data management. This state-of-the-art technology supports the safe storage and dissemination of sensitive medical information through an unbroken, secure platform. Ensuring data transparency and traceability allows blockchains to improve processes such as drug Supply Chain Management (SCM) and make health devices safer than before. Moreover, this technology can be integrated into mobile-assistive devices used in monitoring patients’ conditions and transferring their health data via smart gadgets thereby improving the quality of healthcare delivered to them. Further still, there is more privacy and security in data across the use of blockchain thus leading to major advancements in digital medicine. While this chapter introduces blockchain in healthcare it outlines several applications that utilize blockchain to enhance the security and privacy of health data, including Electronic Health Records (EHR), Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), and clinical trials. The subsequent sections will discuss the pros and cons of using blockchain. Some benefits of adopting this type of decentralized network include increasing the reliability of records through the elimination of human errors.