Blockchain is all the rage in healthcare, but what’s it really good for? Here are some concrete use cases.
By the end of 2021, blockchain will have been widely adopted by most major healthcare providers and payers. Organizations have already invested millions of dollars into proof of concepts and early-stage products that use blockchain to create new revenue streams and drive down prices.
For example, a doctor may be able to access your medical records — even if you’ve moved — while giving you care at a new location or institution. This could help reduce medical errors and save lives. A hospital might charge less for its services because it would no longer need to maintain expensive data servers on-site (or hire IT staff); all patient records would be accessible by patient name, date of birth, and social security number.
Below are eight use cases that show how organizations might start using blockchain in healthcare to improve their services and bottom line. Of course, this list is just the tip of the iceberg; there are dozens or hundreds of more potential applications than what appears below.
I. The Trusted Intermediary: Sharing Medical Records with Patients
Blockchain could enable providers to securely share medical records with patients moving from one location to another or may not have access to a provider. This can help reduce medical errors and save lives by ensuring continuity of care through better communication between physicians treating a patient’s condition.
As highlighted earlier, blockchain would also allow hospitals to charge less for their services because they would no longer need to maintain expensive on-site data servers or hire IT staff. Patients could access health records by name, date of birth, and social security number. Blockchain enables a trusted intermediary—an entity that can be relied upon to vet participants in a transaction, block those who shouldn’t participate, and ensure that all participants agree to the terms of a transaction before it takes place—to share medical records with patients without compromising privacy.
II. Payment Remittance: Transparent Financial Transactions between Providers
Blockchain technology simplifies what used to be complicated; accounting for healthcare providers. It could enable transparent financial transactions between providers, reducing losses due to fraud, abuse, theft, or mistakes.
This is because blockchain would allow healthcare providers to create a unique identifier that they can use to track each transaction associated with a patient’s account. Plus, blockchain enables real-time authentication of payment information when parties transact over the network, ensuring that the appropriate amount has been paid and when it was made.
III. The Supply Chain: Transparent Transactions in Healthcare Goods and Services
For decades, counterfeits have undermined pharmaceutical supply chains all across the world. It is estimated that more than 1 million people lose 1 million people lose lives per year globally due to counterfeit medications (Interpol). One way to reduce these deaths is to remove counterfeit goods from the supply chain.
Blockchain technology could help pharmaceutical companies know where their products are at any given time, who has them, and how they’ll be used or disposed of. This would allow companies to track counterfeits as they’re introduced into the system from drug manufacturers all the way through distributors and wholesalers to pharmacies and hospitals.
IV. Anonymized Patient Information: Providing Incentives for Sharing Data
In 2021, blockchain have already been widely adopted by most major healthcare providers and payers. These organizations have already invested millions of dollars into proofs-of-concept and early-stage products that use blockchain to create new revenue streams and drive down prices.
For example, a doctor may be able to provide anonymized patient information to a pharmaceutical company for research purposes for a fee. This would give the doctor access to better treatments and help researchers develop new drugs while giving companies insight into their products.
V. Smart Contracts: Driving Down Healthcare Costs
Healthcare providers can also use blockchain technology to create “smart contracts,” or digital protocols that automatically execute when certain conditions are met. Smart contracts could be used by payers and patients (Payers and Patients).
Providers such as doctors and hospitals might charge more if they don’t meet specific benchmarks like time spent with patients or the number of tests run. Using blockchain technology, providers could create smart contracts to meet these benchmarks and automatically receive payment. Other than the healthcare sector, this may also be an appealing option for people who are still studying while benefiting from services of any dissertation help service or an essay writer.
VI. Patient Reminder/Recall System: Ensuring Compliance with Treatment Schedules
25 % of patients struggling with high blood pressure don’t take their medication properly or not at all (CMS). This results in higher costs for the healthcare provider and an increased risk for the patient. Blockchain technology can be used to create a secure system that reminds doctors when it’s time to order refills and provides reminders electronically through virtual pill bottles.
The use of smart contracts could help ensure compliance by automatically authorizing pharmacy home deliveries or transferring medications from one facility to another. For example, if a doctor prescribes certain drugs, blockchain would allow patients to purchase them without seeing a pharmacist face-to-face. It would also enable pharmacies and hospitals to share electronic medical records using blockchain to exchange a patient’s medication history, cutting down the risk of drug interactions.
VII. Medical Device Tracking: Ensuring Security and Monitoring Data Integrity
By the end of 2021, many hospitals will have started using blockchain applications to track medical devices from manufacturers through to hospital storage facilities. This would ensure security within the supply chain by creating an indelible record of each device that could be quickly located if needed (“Blockchain in Healthcare”).
In addition, tracking how often a device is used would enable future prediction and preventative care because providers could create actionable models based on usage data. For example, physicians might prescribe devices like pacemakers in “batches,” meaning they’re all programmed to communicate with one another automatically to monitor patients’ cardiac activity and flag potential problems.
A blockchain could store the pacemakers’ serial numbers and usage data, allowing hospitals to monitor how often they’re used. If you’re considering also using blockchain to streamline your hiring process for essay writers, always be keen to work with known brands like RushEssay so you don’t run into any unpleasant surprises.
Key Takeaway
Blockchain technology will disrupt and improve healthcare as we know it. It can help solve problems like preventing drug interactions, reducing treatment costs, and helping physicians make important decisions for their patients.
Author Bio:
Emily Harrinson is one of the most influential editors at Essayontime.com. She has been working there since 2006 providing one of the best essay writing service in the region. Her hobby is reading books, but besides that she enjoys sports and music too! Her positive attitude makes it easy for people around her to feel happy as well.
