Essay on Blockchain in Healthcare Industry

Use of Blockchain in the industry

Healthcare is one of the areas that will be most influenced by blockchain technology. Blockchain can impact many elements of how healthcare organizations perform transactions and procedures. This is particularly true now that much of the health care system is moving digitized, such as patient information, transactions, data queries, insurance authorization, interactions and cooperation, and analysis. Confidential material, in specific, must be well safeguarded, and Blockchain may have solutions. As a result, Blockchain may be utilized in this industry in various ways, as explained below.

Drug traceability

The integrity and integrity of blockchain technology are well-known. All old and new transactions are stored in the sort of times stamped, unchangeable blocks. This guarantees that the data collection is both clean and final. The method prevents anybody from reworking and changing the information as they see fit, and it also makes it possible to monitor any goods. The significant difficulty that users confront in the modern day is a lack of consistency in the source of the items put into the market. They only have a partial picture of the entire supply chain. This is how counterfeit medications make their way into the supply chain and eventually reach patients. Users can maintain control of each commodity that goes the distribution network and makes it to the marketplace if they have access to all information collected and transactional data through Blockchain (Agbo et al., 2019). Furthermore, if they need to eliminate a shipment from the marketplace owing to a particular problem, they can quickly track down the items and complete the task without any difficulties. If an issue occurs and they need to halt the release of a product or remove a batch, they can quickly trace the items down and complete the task without difficulty.

Patient Data management

Blockchain is based on well-established cryptographic algorithms, which provide an appropriate protection structure for information sharing. Healthcare professionals capture the address, birthdate, prescriptions, medical procedures, and mobility statistics in EHR style while documenting data for each individual. This data is hosted on the server or in database files. All of these information sources are linked to a specific hash within the cryptographic network with the client’s allocated public ID. Through the Smart Contracts option, the patient governs data access. Through an API, parties may search for, locate, and obtain data. An API will provide individualized health records but will not divulge anything there, such as the client’s identity. If the client wants to disclose their entire medical history to any party, they may do so via Smart Contracts (Khezr et al., 2019). Blockchain Solutions provide their management and accessibility to their medical information, all through an API.

Book Keeping

Medical studies have become the new reality in the current climate. Keeping accurate records of their financial statements through the accounting procedure is a critical necessity of the day. Its purpose is to ensure the smooth operation and assessment of clinical studies. This is where blockchain companies have devised methods to simplify the process of accounting and revenue monitoring. Boehringer Ingelheim has collaborated with IBM to develop a blockchain-powered solution for their accounting process. The database is intended to highlight their first-ever clinical trial endeavor (Agbo et al., 2019). The different components of the bookkeeping procedure will be improved up to tenfold as a result.

Embracing Blockchain in Healthcare

As an IT manager, I would embrace Blockchain by teaching staff and the entire IT team how to use it. In addition, I would employ several techniques to guarantee that the training is successful. Furthermore, there are security measures that I may propose for usage in the system. While blockchain technology is still most often linked with payment operations, its impact on IT and HR will be significant and ubiquitous in the future, with numerous conceivable use applications across domains (Siyal et al., 2019). To prepare for the impending blockchain transformation in healthcare, the IT manager would advise the team to pinpoint problematic areas and wasteful procedures that might be solved by the openness, precision, and efficiency that Blockchain delivers.

To embrace the technology, the IT manager would first determine what issues the healthcare sectors are attempting to address and whether Blockchain is the best approach to tackle them. First and importantly, the IT manager must be intimately familiar with the process. They must identify the sources of waste, and once they have done so, Blockchain will be examined alongside all other possibilities. The healthcare sector may use a set of standards to determine whether Blockchain can address the issue they are attempting to solve. They should consider if several stakeholders share information or whether numerous stakeholders update information. They should also inquire whether authentication is required and whether middlemen add value to the system (Siyal et al., 2019). Lastly, the IT team should investigate whether the engagements are time-sensitive and whether the operations connect. Suppose the solutions to these problems are affirmative. In that case, it indicates that Blockchain might be a viable concept to be accepted in the healthcare system, and the process of educating staff on how to use it would begin.

Strategy to train the IT team

The management would first cautiously choose the Blockchain while educating the IT staff. Because there is no single kind of Blockchain and various blockchain technology exist, the IT manager must ensure that they select the appropriate type of Blockchain for their needs. The team must be enlightened on the risks of choosing the incorrect system or assessing innovations without first grasping the main advantages. They must be told that Blockchain types change based on if they are public or private, which means a group of users runs them. To help make sure the IT manager gets the appropriate technology, a person with blockchain knowledge, whether in the team, from consulting company, or from a business organization that offers blockchain applications, would be necessary for making sure the group chooses the suitable Blockchain for the entity (Williams, 2018).

The next step would be to design deliberately. The IT staff will be taught that Blockchain must be adequately developed to solve organizational challenges and fit in with existing procedures. If not, such practices may need to be changed to build the basis for the Blockchain. Partnering with the technical team and administration, and executives to pick apart challenges and pain points and create a solution around it is some of the most outstanding work done (Williams, 2018). Organizations must also consider privacy concerns, encryption, regulation, and collaborate with a blockchain.

The last step will be to train the IT team on how to navigate uncertainty. Blockchain is still in its early stages, and governance is quite restricted. This may evolve in the future, which implies that the IT staff must watch the evolving policy structure and actively participate in developing it. Inquiring with regulators and offering regulatory proposals will benefit both the healthcare business and society. Laws governing data usage and protection, in addition to explicitly controlling the technology, have the potential to profoundly alter how the blockchain functions (Williams, 2018). It is critical to collaborate with regulators to affect how the industry changes.

Security Methods

There are security methods the IT manager would suggest while implementing the use of Blockchain in healthcare. First, it is critical to examine security at all tiers of the technology stack and how to handle network administration and authorization. A complete security plan for an organizational blockchain system comprises standard security measures and controls unique to the Blockchain. Rights control, key management, data protection, encrypted interaction, wise contract privacy, and transactions authorization are some of the security measures unique to business blockchain systems. The healthcare institution should hire professionals to assist them in designing a functional and secure system that will help them accomplish their business objectives (Linn & Koo, 2016). They should also seek a manufacturing infrastructure for developing blockchain applications that can be implemented in their preferred technological setting, whether on or through their chosen cloud provider.

References

Khezr, S., Moniruzzaman, M., Yassine, A., & Benlamri, R. (2019). Blockchain technology in healthcare: A comprehensive review and directions for future research. Applied sciences, 9(9), 1736.

Siyal, A. A., Junejo, A. Z., Zawish, M., Ahmed, K., Khalil, A., & Soursou, G. (2019). Applications of blockchain technology in medicine and healthcare: Challenges and future perspectives. Cryptography, 3(1), 3.

Linn, L. A., & Koo, M. B. (2016). Blockchain for health data and its potential use in health it and healthcare-related research. In ONC/NIST Use of Blockchain for Healthcare and Research Workshop. Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States: ONC/NIST (pp. 1-10). sn.

Williams, R. N. (2018, November 30). Six strategies to successfully implement Blockchain. FM Magazine. https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2018/nov/how-to-implement-blockchain-201820113.html

Agbo, C. C., Mahmoud, Q. H., & Eklund, J. M. (2019, June). Blockchain technology in healthcare: a systematic review. In Healthcare (Vol. 7, No. 2, p. 56). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.