Every time you go on the internet it is hard to avoid the booming crypto currency industry along with the synonymous buzzword of the decade “Blockchain”.

As this new technology slowly develops and matures it seems that from banking to supply chain logistics, it is ready for distribution. And in healthcare in particular, there a massive opportunity for the blockchain revolution to lead a digital transformation. From medical records, to pharmaceutical supply chains, to smart contracts for payment distribution, there are plenty of methods to leverage this technology. 

What is the Blockchain?

• Blockchain is a distributed database existing on various computers at the same time.
• A decentralized ledger tracking digital assets on P2P network.
• Blockchain it is related to cryptocurrency but its not a cryptocurrency. 
• Blockchain is a technology that enables a distributed ledger to be shared across a peer to peer network. 
• As the name suggests, blockchain, is a chain of data blocks, stored on hundreds or thousands of computers, or servers distributed over a wide geographical area. 

Three Use Cases of Blockchain in the Medical Industry 

Health records

Electronic medical records are the backbone of every modern healthcare system. But your medical records become more complex with each visit to your doctor. And it seems every hospital and every doctor have a different way of storing them, and it not easy for healthcare providers to obtain them. There are some companies out there, that aim to solve this challenge. The aim is to give patients authority over their entire medical history, and to provide a one stop access to patients and physicians while inherently to bring security into the field as well. 

Supply chains

The pharmaceutical industry has one of the highest standards for products safety, security and stability. This industry is ready for disruption. Supply chain management with blockchain can be monitored securely and transparently and this can tackle time delays, and human mistakes. It can also be used to monitor costs, labour and even waste and emissions at every point in the supply chain process. It can be used to verify the authenticity of the products by tracking them from their origin combating the counter freight market. 

Genomic market

There are some companies out there which are building blockchain platforms to enable people to share genomic data safely and securely. They bet that in the near future opportunities around personal genomic sequence will create a data market worth billions of dollars. And the best technology to solve data security issues and to ensure that data gets from its source to the end user without the need of a middleman is the blockchain. 

These companies will use blockchain to enhance data protection and enable buyers, to efficiently acquire genomic data.  These companies, are few of the thousand of start ups which aim to use blockchain to disrupt the healthcare industry. 

In the infancy of the blockchain in a world of NFTs and Crypto Currencies it may be hard to see past the day trading aspect that is synonymous with the term but the future looks bright, however there is a lot work to be done in order to leverage the use of the new technology.

Sources:

https://medcitynews.com/2021/03/blockchains-are-the-building-blocks-of-better-healthcare/?rf=1 

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Blockchain-Applications-in-Healthcare.aspx#:~:text=The%20benefits%20of%20using%20blockchains,hands%20of%20unauthorized%20users%20by