Block chain is a distributed database which presents on multiple computers at the same time. It is constantly growing as new sets of recording or 'blocks', which are added to it. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to the previous block, so that they actually form a chain of blocks which contain information.The data which is stored inside a block depends on the type of block chain. Blockchain technology increases the security and speed up the exchange of information in a way that is cost effective and more transparent.
Blockchain has a wide range of applications as well as uses in healthcare. This technology facilitates the secure transfer of patient medical records and manages the medicine supply chain. It helps healthcare researchers unlock genetic code.
Blockchain technology allows patients to assign access rules for their medical data. For example, allowing specific researchers to access parts of their data and it is limited for a fixed period of time. With blockchain technology, patients can easily connect to other hospitals and by connecting to another hospital they can directly collect their medical data automatically.
The uses of Blockchain technology in healthcare is primarily to manage data. It can improve the whole healthcare IT industry, in addition to facilitating faster access to data and interoperability on a universal scale.
Use Cases of Blockchain in Healthcare sector
Lets see what are the use cases of blockchain technology in healthcare sector :
- Health data Management
Every time a patient enters a new clinic, a medical card is created for patient and is stored in a specific facility and medical data can vary from facility to facility. This data is usually incomplete to the public eye and is filled with information at the facility. This means medial professional need to create new record for new patients and it takes too much time.
Blockchain and healthcare can handle data management issues easily. Patients could access their records whenever they want to do as well as doctors also could access the patients record.
- Clinical trials
In the health care sector, clinical trials are done to determine the efficiency of certain treatments and providing a partial remedy for a given illness. Over the course of these trials, researchers record and store data on test results, individual statistics, patient reports, and other factors.
This is where Blockchain and healthcare play important role through the use of the techechnology, the true authenticity of any document is confirmable. As you already know, data within a Blockchain is immutable and thus, data recorded during clinical trial processes can always be approved for authenticity. Blockchain technology could introduce greater transparency and accountability to clinical trials.
- Traceability of medical drugs
Prescription drug misuse is also quite a big issue. These fake drugs can also kill patients. In Blockchain and healthcare, data is not change, so it becomes easy to find the fraudulent activity, and, thus, real prescriptions from fake ones, as well as the source of drugs.
New Blockchain technologies allow for efficient tracking of drugs and prescriptions. Healthcare Blockchain companies like MediLedger and BlockMedx are working on opposing fake drugs. Aside from enhancing medical drug supply chain processes, the technology offered by the latter is also available to underdeveloped nations.
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