Blockchain technology has received a lot of traction since its inception, mainly due to its unique features like transparency and immutability. These features have made it an amazing solution for numerous problems in many industries like finance, and supply chains and the healthcare industry is no exception.
With the advent of the technological revolution in the healthcare industry, all healthcare institutes seek to adopt technologies that can facilitate their procedures. However, since this industry also handles highly sensitive patient information, providers must ensure that any technology they adopt does not compromise the security of their patient data. This is where blockchain technology comes in. Blockchain technology can be used to benefit the healthcare sector in many ways.
In this detailed blog, we will focus on the use cases, benefits, and future of blockchain in healthcare:
Let us begin!
Surprising Statistics & Facts of Blockchain Technology in the Healthcare Market
Before we get into what exactly is blockchain technology in healthcare and the name of the best blockchain development company. Let’s check out the fact with real numbers:
- Around $126 billion: the extended worth of blockchain technology in the healthcare market in 2030.
- Approximately $242 million – the amount that pharmaceutical and medical device companies invested in blockchain to replace their traditional systems in 2021.
- Nearly $100 billion – The amount saved annually by healthcare companies through blockchain adoption to improve their IT operations.
All those numbers should grab your attention if you plan to be a major player in the healthcare industry. So, let us learn about the use cases of blockchain for the healthcare field.
Blockchain in Healthcare Industry: Top Use Cases
There are various approaches via blockchain that can help cover up the loopholes of the healthcare industry today. Here, we have listed and explained five use cases of blockchain in healthcare. Let’s take a quick look:
1. Managing Patient Data
One of the most well-known healthcare use cases for blockchain shows patient data management. Medical records tend to be separated by health agencies, making it impossible to determine a patient’s medical history without consulting their prior care provider. This process can take a significant amount of time and can often lead to errors due to human error.
2. Management of The Drug Supply Chain
Starting with some statistics, the National Council for Crime Prevention has stated that around 10% of medicines in the global supply chain are counterfeit. That’s a worrying trend, especially if those who need those drugs don’t get the treatment to cure their life-threatening ailments. By some estimates, this counterfeit drug market is worth up to $200 billion annually.
However, every transaction on the blockchain is timestamped and immutable. As a result, utilizing blockchain makes it simple to identify and stop illicit drug transactions and drugs. Blockchain for drug traceability is another of its uses, as inventory can be managed and drug life cycles can also be monitored.
3. Medical Credential Tracking
Any patient wants to have confidence in the doctor from whom they receive treatment. Does the specialist have sufficient qualifications, what is her previous experience and where did this doctor work?
Verifying medical credentials is one of the use cases for blockchain in healthcare. This technology can store all of the healthcare provider’s information in a single database. Also, the blockchain will help verify the authenticity of these credentials.
It can also help recruit medical workers, as the employer can easily verify all the information about the candidates without extreme red tape. Additionally, blockchain’s advanced security standards protect all medical credentials.
4. Management of Medical Procedures
Medical paperwork management is another area where blockchain technology proves useful.
Hospitals and other healthcare providers can reduce the paperwork their clients and physicians must complete. Anytime a paper-based system can be replaced by a computerized one, it is better for storage purposes, reduces costs and time spent on routine tasks, and even prevents physician burnout.
On top of that, insurance transactions become easier to track so nothing goes astray. Providers and patients do not have to go through the trouble of providing additional copies of transactions to insurance providers, which is appreciated by all involved.
5. Smart Contracts for Insurance
Insurance smart contracts are another well-known use case for blockchain in healthcare. This technology allows insurance service providers to transfer their processes to a digital environment and even automate insurance issuance.
Each smart contract will be recorded on the blockchain and easily accessible, so there will be no disputes with insurance terms. Everything related to drug reimbursement or health insurance coverage can be found online.
In addition, smart contracts allow insurers to use advanced analytics, thanks to which providers of such services can optimize insurance plans for their customers.
The Benefits of Blockchain Technology in the Healthcare Industry
After going through the use cases of Blockchain technology in healthcare. It’s time to understand the benefits of Blockchain in the medicine market.
1. Supply Chain Optimization
The main challenge in the health sector is to guarantee the authenticity of the origin of medical products to guarantee the authenticity of medicines. With the help of blockchain technology, food can be traced from manufacturing to every stage of the supply chain.
This allows full visibility and transparency of the products to be purchased. This can help companies apply AI to better predict demand and optimize supply accordingly, while increasing customer confidence.
2. Payments Using Cryptocurrency
Blockchain makes it possible to receive medical assistance and pay for those services in cryptocurrency. For instance, Aveon Health and Micropayment make use of the advantages of Blockchain technology and are based on it. The micropayment model records all the details of the patient’s activities related to the treatment review.
3. Decentralized Storage of Medical Records
The interplanetary file system allows versioned file data to be stored in decentralized storage environments. The file system creates a unique hash called the base configured IED description that ensures that all file versions are identical. The hash returned by IPFS allows users to access data on websites, but because blockchain files are immutable and websites change regularly, DNS needs to be changed after every update. Therefore, IPFS solves this problem by mapping site addresses to DNS.
4. Improve eHealth Record Systems
Electronic health record systems are the health data in a digital format created and stored by multiple healthcare facilities. As per the healthcare app development company, blockchain addresses shortcomings such as accessibility, interoperability, and authentication by linking electronic health records and sharing record ownership among all interested parties.
5. Improved Recruitment for Clinical Trials
The researchers have created an Ethereum-based blockchain that simulates the recruitment process. The resulting blockchain-based system safeguards the participants’ privacy while allowing all researchers to view trial data.
What Will Be The Future of Blockchain in Healthcare?
Blockchain technology helps solve some of the biggest challenges facing the healthcare industry. Therefore, your reach will only get better. With the increase in technical tools to facilitate the sharing of patient information and improve healthcare procedures, the industry is looking for secure and transparent ways to perform operations to have complete authenticity in the systems and ensure that their patients are themselves.
With its decentralized nature and its capabilities to provide robust and secure solutions, the use of blockchain technology has already started in the industry. As we move forward, the number of requests will increase. It can also be expected to be used in conjunction with other technologies such as AI and ML to receive enhanced healthcare and healthcare blockchain solutions.
Challenges for Blockchain Technology in The Healthcare Industry
While blockchain in healthcare is becoming one of the most compelling trends in healthcare app development, there are still challenges to overcome in order to utilize this emerging technology to its full potential.
We have talked about the use cases and benefits of blockchain in healthcare. But it is commonly understood that this technology can still be developed by intrepid designers and inventors. Possible obstacles to this could be technical challenges, but what is potentially more intrusive are legislative policies, cultural obstacles, and regulation.
The many uses of blockchain seem self-evident. Anyone associated with the healthcare industry should recognize the potential based on what has already been invented and upgraded with Blockchain. So, after reading the almost complete blog, if you have any intention to hire developers for your project then, you should definitely connect with our team.
Connect With Blockchain Experts at Quytech!
Highlighting the potential uses and benefits of blockchain in healthcare, it seems obvious that we have only scratched the surface and the technologies will continue to move forward. To keep your medical business on top, you should consider applying these technologies in your new technology solution.
Despite current challenges related to blockchain legislation and regulation in healthcare, this innovation still has great potential. It is the blockchain that will help solve data security problems, improve the quality of healthcare, and improve medical research.
Having experience with blockchain, Quytech knows how innovative and beneficial it is. While we are experts in healthcare mobile app development, we understand industry specialties and how to adapt to each other.
So, we can help you with the development of healthcare applications with blockchain technology. Let’s boost the medical industry together. All you have to do is get in touch with us; while we take care of the rest.
