Crypto Academy / Season 4 / Week 3 - Homework Post for @yohan2on - The Potential Applications Of Blockchain In The Health Care Industry

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Hello, everyone!
This post is the homework post for the lecture of @yohan2on. I tried my best in the homework and learned new things from the lecture as well. I researched a lot for this homework; I hope I have completed all the requirements.

Itroduction

Many companies have already started to use blockchain technology first developed as the accounting method for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Blockchain is a continually growing list of record, called blocks, linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a cryptographic hash.
Healthcare-related blockchain applications aim to provide more effective management, better patient care, and improve compliance without compromising data security or integrity. Institutions must focus their blockchain health initiatives on solving real medical problems by embracing the technology for what it does best: transparency, safety, and trust automation between multiple parties.

Blockchain can solve many pressing problems facing our industry today, including chronic disease management, medication adherence, and interoperability. For instance, patients often face long wait times when scheduling follow-up appointments with their doctor or specialist. Using a platform that enables secure access to medical records through permissioned networks would allow patients to manage their healthcare records, including test results, medical history, and medications from multiple institutions. This would make it possible to schedule appointments from smartphones or tablets, making follow-up care much more efficient. The use of blockchain technology in healthcare also has the potential to transform how we ascertain medication compliance. Medication non-adherence costs the U.S. roughly $300-$400 billion annually, and this number is only expected to grow due to chronic diseases such as diabetes which now affect nearly one in four Americans. By recording patient adherence at the time medications are filled, blockchain enables stakeholders across the continuum of care to proactively engage patients and help improve overall outcomes while reducing costs related to hospitalizations, readmission rates, and lost work productivity

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In addition to these benefits, it is essential to understand that with this technology comes responsibility. Healthcare organizations must ensure all-encompassing security protocols are implemented before going live on any public distribution network. Without this, public networks aren't an option.

With blockchain technology being a decentralized system, most institutions require permission to access, limiting the number of stakeholders to view or gain access to patient data. In requiring multi-party consensus for authentication and access privileges, only those stakeholders who need access to the data sets will decrypt the information. The implications for this are tremendous but can also lead to concerns of confidentiality and privacy if proper security precautions aren't adhered to.

Blockchain technology has opened a door for medical institutions and providers to leverage enhanced transparency and automation of trust between multiple parties to solve many of our most pressing challenges. As compelling as these benefits might be, organizations must evaluate what problems they want or need blockchain solutions to address before diving into an initiative. One should not consider this is a silver bullet-type situation because there are some issues that blockchain won't solve, such as patient engagement, which still requires a great deal of compelling messaging and education to persuade patients to be proactive about their healthcare. To solve these problems, the industry needs more than blockchain technology-we need effective, solutions-based messaging and content that can be distributed through consumer-friendly platforms like social media.

The potential applications of Blockchain in the Health care industry with the brief explanation:

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1. Blockchain and Electronic Health Record system:
2. Blockchain and Pharmaceutical industry:
3. Blockchain and Risks involved in the Health care industry:
4. Blockchain and Patient Health record:
5. Blockchain and E-Pharmacies:
6. Blockchain and direct patient-provider payments:
7. Blockchain and Electronic Medical Records:
8. Blockchain and Clinical Trials:
9. Blockchain and Patient consent:
10. Blockchain and Human resources:
11. Blockchain and Tracking medical devices:
12. Blockchain and Insurance:
13. Blockchain and medicine:
14 Blockchain and Public Health:
15. Blockchain and drug testing:

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1. Blockchain and Electronic Health Record system:

According to a study, there are 793 patients alive today because their medical records were available on blockchain technology, even though they would otherwise have perished in fatal accidents. Blockchain-based health records can be vital to achieving healthcare interoperability, without which patients can't get access to critical information.

2. Blockchain and Pharmaceutical industry:

The pharmaceutical industry has been hit by cases of fake prescription drugs entering the supply chain. This is based on the negligence or collusion of pharma employees who deliberately let counterfeit drug packages slip under their noses. According to a study, over 100,000 people die due to fake drugs per year. Blockchain-based pharmaceutical supply chain management can track and store all critical information related to drug development, manufacturing, and distribution. This will help ensure immutable records of the entire process, from planting seeds to manufacturing and storage.

3. Blockchain and Risks involved in the Health care industry:

Currently, there are many risks involved in Blockchain technology for the Healthcare industry that needs to be addressed before using it as a mainstream application. Now, this is mainly used by individual researchers but not by large institutions or hospitals. The issues are connected with security concerns, legal questions, and effects on care providers.

4. Blockchain and Patient Health record:

Healthcare providers have been habituated with traditional ways of storing patient records. Although a blockchain-based electronic health records system is emerging in some parts of the world, healthcare providers need to understand how it works and why it can help them provide better patient care.

5. Blockchain and E-Pharmacies:

Western Union is also looking to implement Blockchain technology in its business processes. One of these firms, Echo, will be partnering with the Africa-based company Lipa Na M-Pesa to allow people to transfer, deposit, and withdraw money using blockchain technology.

6. Blockchain and direct patient-provider payments:

Numerous health care organizations use third-party clearinghouses to process claims and other transactions on their behalf. Blockchain technology can be used as a fast settlement platform for providers and patients, removing the need for intermediaries.

7. Blockchain and Electronic Medical Records:

Electronic medical records (EMRs) could be an excellent application for this technology as they would help hospitals avoid errors resulting from transcription mistakes or by not entering information at all. In the past, people have been able to keep their records on their personal computers, in private servers, but these are still in centralized locations.

8. Blockchain and Clinical Trials:

The pharmaceutical industry is also looking into Blockchain technology to help with clinical trials for new drugs. The United state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that it is working with IBM to explore this area. This would be a beneficial application as it helps eliminate any bias as the results of each trial can't be altered.

9. Blockchain and Patient consent:

Patients often give their personal health information to private companies without realizing what they agree to. Blockchain technology, however, is based on asymmetric cryptography and decentral.

10. Blockchain and Human resources:

Another way that Blockchain could be used here is by hiring people, including for remote work. Rather than looking at resumes and trying to contact applicants via Skype or other means, employers could select the profiles they like and hire them on the spot. There will be no longer a need for interviews.

11. Blockchain and Tracking medical devices:

One application that has been mentioned frequently is using blockchain technology to track patients who have had heart valves fit into their bodies using medical devices such as catheters. If any problems occur with these products, they can lead to severe kidney damage or even death. When devices are tracked using blockchain, it is easier to identify where the problem occurred and who is responsible for it.

12. Blockchain and Insurance:

Another area where Blockchain technology could be used is in insurance claims. Whenever an accident occurs involving two or more parties, each of them involved will feel that the other one is responsible and will claim compensation from their insurance company. If this process can be sped up and made more manageable, it could help save a lot of time and money.

13. Blockchain and medicine:

In the medical world, blockchain technology enables patients to carry their electronic records with them on a data storage device or even stored on the cloud. This information is not under the control of health care providers, making it easier to change doctors or move to another country for treatment, removing the need to go through old records that might not even exist anymore.

14 Blockchain and Public Health:

The public health sector could also benefit from this technology, especially regarding issues such as disease outbreaks. The idea is that both individuals and local, state, and national public health agencies could share digital information more easily when it's recorded on a blockchain-based database.

15. Blockchain and drug testing:

This is an area where the technology could help out with authenticity and the assessment of dosage and effects. As stated earlier, one problem in this area is that people can buy drugs online and how strong it might be, leading to problems such as overdose.

Blockchain could be used here for product authentication, tracking, and keeping the patient safe from receiving fake products. It would also help hospitals monitor these heart valves if a patient suddenly has a problem with them after surgery, as it may indicate a manufacturing defect rather than something that resulted from their recovery process. One other area where this could have an impact is in the management of medical records. Many people have concerns over privacy issues relating to their medical records being available online or shared without their knowledge. To counter this, blockchain technology could be implemented as one way of keeping data secure as it's not stored centrally but on many different computers around the world.

Conclusion

The potential applications of Blockchain in the health care industry are only limited by the imagination of industry experts and technologists. Technological advancements have had a growing impact on the health care industry, and Blockchain is one of those techniques. The implementation of blockchain has enabled people to access their medical records online, and it could be used for other health-related services such as drug tests and clinical trials.

However, we cannot ignore that there may be many barriers that may prevent the implementation of Blockchain in the health care industry. For instance, it is still unclear whether blockchain can help improve either operational efficiency or clinical outcomes. In addition, difficulties related to data privacy and security would have to be considered before introducing this technology to the health care industry.

There are pros and cons to using blockchain in the health care field. There are great potentials for this technology but also some risks behind it. It requires more discussion about using this technology properly to avoid the disadvantages of using this new technology.

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