Let’s face it. Quality healthcare services are the need for today. But, in order to bring revolutionary changes in the healthcare sector, the latest technologies must be adopted to realize those aspirations.

Talking about the latest technologies, Blockchain is one such technology that can yield positive impacts on the current healthcare systems.

Sorce: peerbits.com

For those who don’t know, blockchain is an emerging technology that has taken the world by storm. It is basically a decentralized system that stores transactional data into interconnected blocks.

Now, there are many use cases for blockchain technology in healthcare sector. And in this article, I’m going to share those use cases to understand how blockchain technology intertwines with the healthcare sector.

Blockchain Technology in Healthcare – Use Cases

The main use cases of blockchain technology in healthcare industry mainly revolve around managing healthcare data. For instance, blockchain can facilitate interoperability on a large scale and aid faster data access.

That being said, let’s check out the specific use cases of blockchain technology for healthcare sector.

1 – Health Data Management

The medical data of a patient can vary from facility to facility. For example, let’s say a patient goes to a clinic for treatment. As per the current healthcare system, the patient’s medical data and given medication will be stored in that clinic only.

So, next time the same patient visits a different clinic, the medical professionals at the new place won’t have access to all of the patient’s previous medical records. This is basically a critical mishap in the healthcare industry.

Blockchain, however, can bandage this problem quite easily. Blockchain has the capability to create a tech that makes medical records of every single person accessible all over the world.

The good news is, this blockchain use case is, in fact, very close to coming to reality.

2 – Medical Billing

Medical billing fraud, in the past recent years, has become a very serious issue for hospitals as well as insurance companies.

What’s even more concerning issue is the fact that the current healthcare billing processes are quite inadequate in identifying fraudulent transactions.

Fortunately, blockchain technology in healthcare has the potential to improve not only billing security and auditability but also increasing billing efficiency.

3 – Clinical Trials

Clinical trials, as you might already know, are done to discover the efficiency of any given treatment, with the goal of curing a particular illness.

Now, a single clinical trial yields a lot of data that can be difficult to not only track but also prevent from being stolen or corrupted.

This is where blockchain comes into play. Blockchain technology can help clinical research firms to embed greater transparency, accessibility, and authenticity. In addition, since the blockchain technology is immutable, it leaves no room for data getting stolen or manipulated.

As you just saw, there are many use cases of blockchain for healthcare industry. But, if you’re still not convinced, then here are some more benefits of blockchain technology in healthcare sector.

Blockchain Technology for Healthcare – Future Opportunities

There is no doubt the healthcare industry has advanced to a great level. But just like other things in life, there are many issues in healthcare industry that needs to be addressed.

Below, we will see how blockchain can help to address some of these issues and what are the future opportunities for the same.

1 – Prescription Traceability

Issue: Fake & misused prescriptions are nothing new. But since this can have grievous effects on a patient’s health, it must be addressed as soon as possible.

Opportunity: Data stored on Blockchain are basically unalterable and therefore it can completely eliminate the counterfeit or fake prescriptions.

2 – Health Data Security

Issue: As we discussed before, health data can be easily manipulated or changed, which is why it’s critical to establish better security standards.

Opportunity: Medical data stored in Blockchain alleviates the risk of data mishandling, which could help to prevent data from being manipulated or misused.

3 – Health Data Interoperability

Issue: Patients data, when moved from one facility to another facility, often becomes sloppy. This basically results in incomplete data transfer, leading to a prescription mishap.

Opportunity: Medical data stored on blockchain technology eliminates the risk of partial information transfer, regardless of the distance between two facilities.

So, these are the main opportunities that blockchain technology has to offer for the healthcare industry worldwide.

Concluding Thoughts…

There are many inefficiencies in the current healthcare system worldwide. These inefficiencies are, in fact, causing many lives as well as serious financial damages to the whole industry.

Blockchain, although, seems a very promising technology, having the capability of solving issues of the current healthcare industry. In fact, entrepreneurs from all around the world have already started integrating blockchain technology in healthcare with the help of some reputed blockchain development companies in many ways.

We will, in fact, soon witness more & more healthcare tech solutions rise, backed with blockchain technology.

Author Bio

Shahid Mansuri

Shahid Mansuri Co-founder Peerbits, one of the leading mobile app development company USA, in 2011 which provides Blockchain app development services. His visionary leadership and flamboyant management style have yield fruitful results for the company. He believes in sharing his strong knowledge base with learned concentration on entrepreneurship and business.