Blockchain technology is proving its mettle in healthcare industry with some real prototype in the ecosystem. The finance industry is seeing big strides by using blockchain technology, but this is not the only industry benefiting from the technology. While blockchain is strongly associated with transactions and payments, mostly because it was originally used with Bitcoin, the potential that comes from this technology is so much bigger than just in the finance and payment sector. There is actually a lot of potentials that comes from using blockchain and almost any industry could benefit from it. The projects that are already being developed shows the impact that this technology can have in all different industries.

When we look at the healthcare industry spectrum, it is tempting to presume that the blockchain’s capabilities are going to be a silver bullet that will fix the challenges with medical records and patient data privacy.

Drug traceability

The blockchain will prove revolutionary solution where each transaction between drug manufacturer, wholesaler, pharmaceuticals, and patients can be traced to validate and secure medicine product information important for tackling issues such as the counterfeit drug. Moreover, non-monitored distribution of some potential drugs can be avoided.

Improvement and Authentication of Healthcare Records

The blockchain technology can even be used in medical and healthcare industry. The fact that blockchain is a distributed ledger where changes made in one part will be updated in all the other parts at the same time, could really help with the patient care. Patients would no longer need to keep track of all the information on their own and doctors will not have to wait around to learn about this information if the patient is transferred with the help of Health information exchange (HIE).

This ledger has a lot of potential in the healthcare industry. If you have ever visited more than one doctor in your life, you are aware that there is a lot of paperwork to fill out each time you go. Each time you start with a new hospital, they ask a lot of medical questions, about your allergies and more. Every time you have to see a new doctor, you will have to give out this information.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

Compiling a transportable, yet an integrated medical record is an old and hard problem to solve. With the help of blockchain, your doctor will be able to store all this information in a database that is shared or distributed in the community of medical experts. This database would contain all the health records of everyone who have visited a doctor or hospitals. They could just look over the medical records of the patients, saving a lot of time and hassle, and making it easier for them to provide the right treatment to the patient.

In some cases, this could end up saving the life of the patient. If they are rushed into surgery, the doctor would be able to look at the information and see if the patient has any known medical history of allergies rather than hoping they get things right. Conditions that may not be caught in a single visit of the patient could be found out with the information from the previous medical records.

Even health insurance companies could save a lot of time and millions of dollars if they could gain access to this database. Applying for health insurance can take a lot of time because they will ask many questions, which will be uncomfortable and sometimes invasive. Patients could choose to allow the health insurance company to access to their health records, saving some time and making sure that they have the right information. Other key developments that would take place in the healthcare industry with the help of blockchain are smart contracts, clinical trials, precision medicine, genomics research, and interoperability.

For every disease and surgery, we need a doctor, likewise healthcare industry got a new doctor ‘Blockchain’ to solve its bottlenecks.