Blockchain Can Contribute Significantly to Tracking the Medicine Supply Chain

As discussed in recent articles, blockchain technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in the healthcare sector. The reason is simple –safety and convenience for users. Another one of the most promising aspects arising from using blockchain to support the health system is its capabilities to monitor the purchase and movement of pharmaceutical products.

It is no secret that invariably, when accounting for the sheer quantity of medicines available, different errors and mistakes can occur. For example, the problem of counterfeiting and the resale of expensive prescription drugs purchased through State Supported Health Systems is significant. The production of analogue medicines is huge. The worldwide turnover of counterfeit pharmaceutical products market exceeds $ 200 billion and continues to grow. Counterfeit medicines are not just “money savers”, but can be a direct threat to the life and well-being of patients.
Blockchain enables the creation of a system for prescribing and supplying medicines that is transparent for both the patient and the issuing body. All data on blockchain is encrypted, so it is impossible to delete. Confidentiality and security are the two key characteristics of blockchain technology that will become indispensable in the field of prescribing and supplying pharmaceutical products.

With blockchain, supervisory authorities as well as the actual consumers of the medicine will be able to track the entire supply chain of their delivery, from source to end-user. The introduction of blockchain to the pharmaceutical market is a necessary and timely development that can not only significantly improve budgetary costs, but can also protect our lives and health from counterfeit products.