Healthcare Technology Featured Article

February 24, 2020

Blockchain in Healthcare: Opportunities And Challenges




Growing companies are demanding the need to introduce revolutionary changes to all facets of their business as time and technology advance. The pace of growth is rising to higher levels when it comes to the healthcare field. The need for today is quality healthcare facilities that are backed up with the latest technologies. In turn, the environment of the healthcare system is moving towards a more patient-centered approach that focuses on two main elements, namely accessible treatment and at all times appropriate healthcare facilities.

Current Healthcare System

Most health-care facilities still rely on outdated systems to maintain patient records today. Such programmes have the benefit of maintaining the patient data in local records. This can make diagnosis complicated for the doctor which is time-consuming for the doctor and boring for the patients as well. As a result, the cost of maintaining a patient-oriented company is considerably increased.

Issues which prevail in the healthcare sector are not limited. They continue to grow over time, with high intensity. There can be no denying the need for a technically advanced device. Consider the drug counterfeiting problem which results in losses of around $200 million.Judy, senior manager at TrumpLearning which provides online digital marketing courses says,  If a programme with reliable monitoring features is introduced in the supply chain, it could be significantly reduced. Health Information Exchange is another time-consuming and tedious process that results in high costs to the healthcare industry. Because patients have no control over their records, the risks of identity hacks, spamming and financial data crimes are through every day.

Blockchain Solution

Blockchain is one of the most disruptive technologies nowadays that have taken the world by storm. A blockchain is nothing more than a distributed ledger that keeps track of transactions and events that occur across the network. Jolly a writer offers to do my accounting homework services to students' comments -A blockchain's most special attribute is that no-one can change it once a piece of information is applied to the distributed ledger. The information stored on a blockchain is in its entirety totally safe. To make a change in one block for anyone, it's compulsory to make changes to all the following blocks after it. A blockchain's working depends on three important principles that have long existed. Compiled functioning of these concepts enables blockchain to provide safe and efficient digital ties.

Private key cryptography?—Kelly who offers services like do my paper for me says, Through private key cryptography, the code is encrypted and decrypted using a secret key as a variable along with an algorithm. Even where the algorithm is not, the key is kept secret. A stable digital identity connexion is generated in a blockchain but the transactions are in the open network.

Distributed ledgers?—A distributed ledger also known as a shared ledger is called public record consensus. Under DLT, the ledger is updated under real time, and there is no central authority responsible for keeping the ledger. Alternatively, the participants in the network keep the ledger current. Any changes made in the ledgers are expressed in seconds.

Authentication?—?Authentication is a process which demonstrates genuineness. All the transactions are authenticated in a Blockchain before they are connected to the chain. This procedure is carried out by means of algorithms that confirm and verify all transactions. Once the information is authenticated and signed and stored digitally the authenticity is sealed as pointed out by one user on his whitesmoke review.

Permissioned Blockchains

These kinds of blockchains, as the name suggests, allow real-time data to only be exchanged on a permitted basis between the network participants. A licenced blockchain is a decentralised network in which the network is accessed by all parties participating in the programme. It is designed and used within organisations and businesses to securely share information and make transactions.  Lucky, an expert from whom students approach paper writing service says ,Once a transaction is processed by consensus, it is regarded as a permanent record, and added to the current blockchain as a new block.

Permissionless Blockchains

Permissionless blockchains allow everyone permission to build their own address and begin communicating with the network. The internet is one of the most common examples of a permissionless system that allows anyone to build their own website. Similarly, anyone on the network can communicate with other participants on the same network through the creation of their address on the network in a permissionless blockchain.Of these two, private or licenced blockchains can be used efficiently in healthcare to make the right decisions within the healthcare ecosystem. The use of Blockchain technology in healthcare has many potentialities as it is being further explored.

Blockchain Applications for Healthcare

Having explored the importance of blockchain technology in the healthcare sector along with the changes it could bring, here are a few use cases which exploit the technology's potential and could make the healthcare industry more open, secure and reliable.

Population Health Data

Population health data refers to a given demographic's medical information. For example, in the 25–40 year range, it may be health risk information for women suffering from thyroid. 

The biggest challenges faced so far when it comes to population health management are data protection and interoperability ,as remarked by John, an expert providing cdr report writing.

If the patient information is segregated and stored on multiple systems that do not allow the seamless exchange of information, then the population health data sets would become sparse among different patient sets.  Blockchain offers a reliable solution to that particular challenge.

Secure Healthcare Setups

The new healthcare system and organisations work via a single central database. One person in the organisation maintains this database. The approach often brings the point of failure to a single point. In such situations, if the system is compromised by a hacker or an antisocial person, he / she will access the overall database and would place both the patients and the organisation in risk. Blockchain may be used to avoid an organisation's internal infrastructure

Conclusion

 Nick, who offers services like do my programming homework says, Blockchain's potential for healthcare is highly dependent on the adoption of the new technology within the healthcare community to build technical infrastructure. Although there are some questions and speculations about the incorporation of Blockchain with current healthcare systems and their cultural acceptance, the technology is still prominent in the healthcare sector.

Over the past year it has taken the healthcare industry by storm and many approaches are being built for its adoption. Blockchain is expected to change the healthcare world for good, with so many possible use cases and possibilities.




 

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]




SHARE THIS ARTICLE



FREE eNewsletter

Click here to receive your targeted Healthcare Technology Community eNewsletter.
[Subscribe Now]