Abstract
The healthcare industry is confronted with significant challenges such as data security vulnerabilities, interoperability issues, and transparency concerns. These hurdles hinder the seamless exchange of critical information among healthcare providers, leading to inefficiencies in healthcare delivery and compromising patient care. This study delves into the potential of blockchain technology to address these pressing challenges. Blockchain’s decentralized and tamper-proof nature offers a solution to secure storage and sharing of patient health records, thereby facilitating interoperability among different healthcare entities. Through blockchain, data standardization and secure sharing become achievable, reducing duplication of tests and enhancing data accuracy. The implementation of blockchain in healthcare processes yields tangible results, including reduced administrative burdens, expedited diagnoses, and more effective treatment plans. Patients benefit from gaining control over their data, allowing them to grant access to specific parties while retaining ownership. Furthermore, blockchain’s applications extend beyond data sharing to encompass areas such as clinical trials, supply chain management, billing processes, and medical research, thereby enhancing transparency, accuracy, and collaboration in healthcare operations. Real-world applications of blockchain in healthcare are diverse and impactful, ranging from secure and transparent sharing of electronic health records to streamlined supply chain management and improved billing processes. The benefits are evident in terms of reduced costs, enhanced data security, increased operational efficiency, and improved patient outcomes. This study underscores the transformative potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing healthcare processes. By streamlining data exchange, enhancing security, and empowering patients with control over their data, blockchain emerges as a catalyst for positive change in the healthcare landscape, paving the way for more efficient healthcare delivery and improved patient care outcomes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attaran M (2020) Blockchain technology in healthcare: challenges and opportunities. Int J Healthc Manag 15(1):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2020.1843887
Attaran M, Gunasekaran A (2019) Applications of blockchain technology in business: challenges and opportunities. Springer, Cham
BIS Research (2018) Global blockchain in healthcare market: focus on industry analysis and opportunity matrix—analysis and forecast, 2018–2025
Bocek T, Rodrigues BB, Strasser T et al (2017) Blockchains everywhere use-case of blockchains in the pharma supply chain. In: Integrated network and service management (IM), IFIP/IEEE symposium on IEEE. IEEE, pp 772–777
Bouras MA, Lu Q, Zhang F et al (2020) Distributed ledger technology for eHealth identity privacy: state of the art and future perspective. Sensors 20(2):E483
Bresnick J (2017) Exploring the use of blockchain for EHRs, healthcare big data. ThinStock
Chen HS, Jarrell JT, Carpenter KA et al (2019) Blockchain in healthcare: a patient-centered model. Biomed J Sci Technol Res 20(3):15017–15022
Cheng EC, Leb Y, Zhoub J et al (2018) Healthcare services across China—on implementing an extensible universally unique patient identifier system. Int J Healthc Manag 11(3):210–216
Davis J (2018) 1.4 million patient records breached in UnityPoint Health phishing attack
Duffy D (2018) The 3 most important security statistics healthcare organizations need to know. Barkly
Finasko (2017) Blockchain analysis—applications of technology in different sectors
Giancaspro M (2017) Is a ‘smart contract’ really a smart idea? Insights from a legal perspective. Comp Law Secur Rev 33(6):825–835
Gordon WJ, Catalini C (2018) Blockchain technology for healthcare: facilitating the transition to patient-driven interoperability. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 16:224–230
Haq J, Esuka OM (2018) Blockchain technology in the pharmaceutical industry to prevent counterfeit drugs. Int J Comput Appl 180(25):8–12
Hillestad R, Bigelow J, Bower A et al (2019) Can electronic medical record systems transform health care? Potential health benefits, savings, and costs. Health Aff 24(5):1103–1117
Hoy MB (2017) An introduction to the blockchain and its implications for libraries and medicine. Med Ref Serv Q 36(3):273–279
Iansiti M, Lakhani K (2017) The truth about blockchain. Harv Bus Rev 95(1):118–127
Journal H (2018) Largest healthcare data breaches of 2018. HIPAA J. https://www.hipaajournal.com/largest-healthcare-data-breaches-of-2018/. Accessed 17 Apr 2020
Kamble SS, Gunasekaran A, Goswami M et al (2018) A systematic perspective on the applications of big data analytics in healthcare management. Int J Healthc Manag 12(3):226–240
Kuo TT, Kim HE, Ohno-Machado L (2017) Blockchain distributed ledger technologies for biomedical and health care applications. J Am Med Inform Assoc 24(6):1211–1220
Lee Kuo Chuen D (2015) Handbook of digital currency, 1st edn. Elsevier
Lorenz JT, Münstermann B, Higginson M et al (2016) Blockchain in insurance: opportunity or threat? McKinsey & Company
Luu L, Chu D, Olickel H et al (2016) Making smart contracts smarter. In: Proceedings of the 2016 ACM SIGSAC conference on computer and communications Security (CCS’16). ACM; 2016; New York, pp 254–269
Mackey TK, Kuo T, Gummadi B et al (2019) ‘Fit-for-purpose?’—Challenges and opportunities for applications of blockchain technology in the future of healthcare. BMC Med 17(1):68
Mougayar W, Buterin V (2016) The business blockchain: promise, practice, and application of the next internet technology. Wiley, Hoboken
Mukherjee P, Pradhan C (2021) Blockchain 1.0 to blockchain 4.0—the evolutionary transformation of blockchain technology. In: Blockchain technology: applications and challenges. Springer, pp 29–49
Paranjape K, Parker M, Houlding D et al (2019) Implementation considerations for blockchain in healthcare institutions. Blockchain Healthc Today 2:114
Pirtle C, Ehrenfeld JM (2018) Blockchain for healthcare: the next generation of medical records? J Med Syst 42(9):172
Rosenbaum L (2019) Anthem will use blockchain to secure medical data for its 40 million members in 3 years. Forbes
Sainz F (2020) Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology. Apple News
Shanley A (2017) Could blockchain improve pharmaceutical supply chain security? Pharm Technol 41(8):34–39
Singh N (2019) Blockchain for healthcare: use cases and applications. 101 Blockchains. https://101blockchains.com/blockchain-for-healthcare/. Accessed 18 Jan 2020
Van Rijmenam M (2018) Why blockchain is quickly becoming the gold standard for the supply chain
Warkentin M, Orgeron C (2020) Using the security triad to assess blockchain technology in public sector applications. Int J Inf Manag 52:102090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102090
Zhang A, Lin X (2018) Towards secure and privacy-preserving data sharing in e-health systems via consortium blockchain. J Med Syst 42(8):140
Zhou L, Wang L, Sub Y (2018) MIStore: a blockchain-based medical insurance storage system. J Med Syst 42(8):149
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thangamani, R., Kamalam, G.K., Vimaladevi, M. (2024). Revolutionizing Healthcare Processes: The Dynamic Role of Blockchain Innovation. In: Kumar, P., Kumari, A. (eds) Blockchain for Biomedical Research and Healthcare. Interdisciplinary Biotechnological Advances. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4268-4_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4268-4_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-97-4267-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-97-4268-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)