Governing Blockchains in the Healthcare Ecosystem

While Blockchain has become popular in various industries (e.g., payments, intellectual property, education, etc.), it still remains underutilized in the healthcare sector. In recent years, health information systems (HIS) have transformed how hospitals function, improving performance and efficiency, albeit with the trade-off of increasing complexity and vulnerabilities. Blockchain-based networks can help address these challenges by protecting healthcare data and preserving privacy through authenticated access. In order for this to occur, Blockchain-based healthcare governance is needed to control and mitigate risks associated with patient data confidentiality and integrity. The aim of this chapter is to detail (through the examination of numerous case studies) how Blockchains can affect the healthcare sector and to demonstrate that every implementation needs a governance framework to keep data under control and to gain patients’ and users’ trust in the system. Blockchains have the potential to bring about great changes on how data is managed; however, it is necessary to preemptively prepare the proper infrastructure first. In turn, this would significantly benefit both the patient and the healthcare providers and result in increased quality of care while simultaneously ensuring a well-governed system.