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Etaghene
Blockchain Technology in Healthcare
This paper reviews the research topic of blockchains in healthcare. The reason for the selection of this topic is the need to inform health practitioners, policymakers, and the general populace of the benefits of blockchain in the health sector. The criticality of blockchains in health services is very importance, and dissemination of such knowledge to healthcare workers will allow them healthcare workers to be ready for these specific threats and to understand how to protect their organization and patients. Investing in blockchains would significantly improve patient care and reduce casualties during maintenance. Blockchains are mainly used to minimize risks in transactions, simplify transactions, and reduce the costs of transactions. Blockchain has proven time and again to be well suited to improve the handling of data, which can be extrapolated to improve the identification and verification of patients, medical providers, and suppliers, improve supply chain management, and improve patient consent data handling. A notable example is Adler, 2018 where the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received several complaints of data breaches resulting in the exposure of 13 million total healthcare records (Alder, 2018); furthermore, according to recent study by the Ponemon Institute on behalf of IBM Security, the average total cost of data breach in the United States was $7.91 million, with the health sector having the highest per capita cost
(Ponemon Institute, 2018). This clearly shows the issues that could be caused by inefficient or incorrectly working blockchain technology, which failed, pointing to the severe risks associated with potential data breaches and exposure to patient records that may be detrimental to their safety. Such occurrences not only expose patients’ data but also put critical care patients at risk. A study of prior data security in health records shows an alarming level of vulnerability of health
records. The utilization of blockchain as the basis of health record management would quickly
rectify this situation. This was especially brought to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic, where verification of patients and patient information became critical during remote interactions.
The utility of blockchain was also instrumental in the accumulation and management of information during the pandemic, which significantly accelerated the adoption of the technology based on its unique characteristics, such as immutability, decentralization, and transparency, which were critical as services moved to digital space and patient visits became virtual. The possession of requisite information on blockchain can, therefore, improve one's career prospects as the technology takes center stage in our daily lives and all sectors. Take another example: Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are a significant issue with patients with regard to privacy, particularly when handling a large amount of information whose handling might present a challenge. Although blockchain technology facilitates the safe storage and access of data, there are still pertinent issues, such as data manipulation or potential downtimes, which may slow down or even wholly restrict access at the most critical time (Fong, 2018). However, those issues
will be resolved as the technology develops and improves and the various shortcomings are ironed out, thus placing blockchain technology at the center of health records management. So far, it has been instrumental in transporting data. Since blockchain tech is highly efficient at managing data, its implementation offers a competitive advantage over traditional data management systems (Fong, 2018). The rise in chronic patients and the aging population has also
exposed the glaring failures in the current outdated technology that is inefficient and too complicated for use in such cases. Furthermore, hospitals have been noted for using considerable
resources to duplicate work that can be completed by sophisticated technology, further justifying the need to implement blockchain technology as a cost-cutting measure.
In this use case, the payer–provider–patient model becomes critical as the three units have to work collaboratively in the delivery of quality services. This function can be highly improved using blockchain technology. Blockchain can be integrated in the workflow tracking of
patients from the first visit to the final diagnosis and treatment plan (Fong, 2018). Blockchain integration can help enable two new features, namely, hot switching of components and medical data curation, facilitating the use case of a physician credentialing using the blockchain. As pointed out earlier, elderly patients are confronted with healthcare systems that are challenging to navigate. This problem could easily be solved with blockchain tech to speed up the care process by simplifying the verification process without the need for advanced technical knowledge, such as the automation of claim processing using smart contracts. As such, it is prudent that healthcare facilities, health practitioners, and medical training institutions embrace blockchain as research overwhelmingly supports the practical use case for this technology. However, there are still problems with blockchain technology that need to be resolved to attract more interest, improve its adoption, and attract more research and development funding. Findings/results
:
Approach:
Blockchain technology stores digital data and ensures the authenticity of the stored data using a network of decentralized and distributed data, known as ledgers, where all users equally share ownership and management of the network using computer nodes, with no single user taking full ownership of the network or the information (Budhi, 2022). In healthcare, this technology can facilitate the independent verification of data without disclosing the owners and
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without the potential of data loss through hacking or any unauthorized access, thus protecting the
owner and the information
Main uses
: The major benefit of blockchain technology is its ability to improve trust, transparency, and traceability across networks. However, this section reviews the primary use case of blockchain as it is instituted presently. The technology is primarily used in banking, financial services, healthcare, and life sciences, showing just how efficient it is to be used in such high-
value industries (Shrimali & Patel, 2022). Advantages
: Blockchain technology allows organizations to deliver meaningful patient or work files more securely (B. Rawat et al., 2020). Blockchain technology also allows healthcare organizations to invest their resources into more important things like patient health
(Esmaeilzadeh, 2022). Blockchain technology also improves the workplace environment by freeing service providers from the often hectic and repetitive record management duties
(Esmaeilzadeh, 2022) Disadvantages:
Adopting blockchain technology could be difficult as it differs from the usual/traditional approach and is thus likely to witness resistance from advocates of the traditional approach
(Dhingra et al., 2023). Secondly, considering that this is an emerging technology, further research
is necessary to evaluate its suitability in other sectors besides the financial industry, especially in compassionate healthcare, and a failure would literally cost lives (Dhingra et al., 2023). Despite overwhelming evidence showing that this technology is actually better than the traditional approach, care must be taken in considering its use as it is still a new technology that is yet to be
extensively tested and, as such, accrues much uncertainty. It should, therefore, not be wholly relied on yet (Chen et al., 2019). Finally, blockchain technology utilization has been limited due to a lack of government support and inadequate regulatory provisions guiding its implementation
(Esmaeilzadeh, 2022). Discussion/evaluations
Blockchain technology offers incredibly high-level data security and other capabilities currently lacking in all other technologies in similar areas. This indicates that in the next five to ten years, the technology might become a mainstay in several data-centered industries, leveraging its benefits to secure their user data. One such sector is the healthcare sector, where data is king. However, at the moment, the technology is still in its infancy. It is plagued by several shortcomings, including high costs, slower speeds due to several internal processes, and difficulty in data modification, which limits its application in healthcare, where modifications are
necessary as new information becomes available. One thing is true, though, that in the next few years, all reputable health service providers will have to implement this database in their health record management.
References
Alder, S. (2018). Largest Healthcare Data Breaches of 2018
. The HIPAA Journal. https://www.hipaajournal.com/largest-healthcare-data-breaches-of-2018/
B. Rawat, D., Chaudhary, V., & Doku, R. (2020). Blockchain Technology: Emerging Applications and Use Cases for Secure and Trustworthy Smart Systems. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy
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(1), 4–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp1010002
Budhi, V. (2022). Advantages And Disadvantages Of Blockchain Technology
. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/20/advantages-and-disadvantages-
of-blockchain-technology/?sh=1f54b6fb3453
Chen, H. S., Jarrell, J. T., Carpenter, K. A., Cohen, D. S., & Huang, X. (2019). Blockchain in Healthcare: A Patient-Centered Model. Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research
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(3), 15017–15022. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31565696
Dhingra, S., Raut, R. D., Yadav, V. S., Cheikhrouhou, N., & Naik, B. K. R. (2023). Blockchain adoption challenges in the healthcare sector: a waste management perspective. Operations Management Research
. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-023-00413-9
Esmaeilzadeh, P. (2022). Benefits and concerns associated with blockchain-based health information exchange (HIE): a qualitative study from physicians’ perspectives. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
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Fong, D. J. (2018). Blockchain and its potential impact on healthcare and pharmacy
. Wolter Kluwer. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/blockchain-and-its-potential-
impact-to-healthcare-and-pharmacy#:~:text=Healthcare%2C and the pharmacy industry, of clinical care to consumers.
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Ponemon Institute. (2018). The 2018 State of Endpoint Security Risk
. https://www.ponemon.org/news-updates/news-press-releases/news/the-2018-state-of-
endpoint-security-risk.html
Shrimali, B., & Patel, H. B. (2022). Blockchain state-of-the-art: architecture, use cases, consensus, challenges, and opportunities. Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information
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(9), 6793–6807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksuci.2021.08.005