6 Potential Use Cases For Blockchain-Based Ecosystem In Healthcare Industry

The blockchain-based ecosystem serves as the backbone for digital health.  Information from patient-based platforms may be integrated into the electronic medical records to give a robust pool from which permissioned participants can access the information. Such a decentralized system has numerous potential uses from the supply chain and HR management, data protection, master patient index, clinical trials, claims adjudication, and longitudinal health records. Here is a close examination of these case uses plus the merits of adopting blockchain.

Supply chain and human resource management

Both human and medical resources need proper management. Details like employment contracts and wages can be recorded on the blockchain-based ecosystem to reduce the human resource management workload. Through Healthureum smart contracts, the authenticity of healthcare infrastructure can be tracked to ensure that all equipment is fit for their intended purposes. Similarly, blockchain can accurately track the production process of drugs using the hash that is generated in the process. For this matter, it will be easier to eradicate the issue of counterfeit drugs. 

Data protection

The integrity of research-related and patient information is critical, and the decentralized blockchain can help in securing this information. By incorporating this technology in healthcare, issues like data leakage, cybercrimes, and tampering of patient information can be mitigated. Medical institutions and life science organizations are some of the entities that suffer the most from security attacks every year, hence the need for a comprehensive data management system- Healthureum. 

Master patient index

Introducing Healthureum concept in the management of patient data can enhance standardization which is fundamental to developing interoperability among health organizations. The ownership and portability of medical data are very critical, and that's why medical facilities are apprehensive about sharing information. As soon as medical institutions agree to adopt the Ethereum –based ecosystem, their attitude will be changed due to the assured data integrity. This will, in turn, solve common problems such as record duplication, mismatch of data sets, and so on. The master patient index concept will appear in various use cases which will require further explorations. 

Clinical trials

When carrying out clinical case studies, data authenticity is quite critical. In most cases, the organization or individual doing the clinical trial tries to prove a hypothesis using concrete evidence from medical data. If the assumption is proven, it brings about tremendous financial gain and creates a hidden motive. Sometimes, data is manipulated just so the favourable results may be obtained- this is a major fraud where unfavourable data is hidden thereby going against the hypothesis. In such a situation, there is a need for a concrete proof of existence, and this is possible through blockchain which facilitates safe recording of data in a chronological manner. Data will be distributed across numerous devices, and it will be impossible to alter the original information. Any act of manipulating data will be detected. Furthermore, patients can volunteer their medical data to be used in clinical trials and research without compromising on privacy. 

Claims adjudication

Some insurance companies commit fraud, making patients lose their claim and wait too long before they are compensated. It has been found that 6% of medical insurance claims are denied due to mismanaged and incomplete records. Moreover, between 5% and 10% of medical bills are overcharged whereby patients end up paying for services they never received. Through Healthureum smart contracts, these human risks can be eradicated because the claims will be issued automatically with pre-determined terms. Even the payment process will be automated hence eliminating unnecessary costs of disputes, and financial loses which patients are subjected to.

Longitudinal health records

For routine health check-ups, most patients consult their GPs. But there are times when specialized consultations are necessary, and this will call for a referral to another medical practitioner. If the new care provider doesn't get a clear longitudinal health record of the patient, it may be difficult for him to provide the most effective treatment plan. The specialist needs to know several facts concerning the patient's health status: current prescriptions, family history, pre-existing health conditions, and medical history. By adopting a decentralized healthcare data system, it would be easier to give a longitudinal view of patients' health so that the physicians can offer more effective treatment plans and consequently better patient experience.

A blockchain can gather data from mobile apps and sensor technologies, and it is through this platform-independent system that medical data may be collected via multiple devices. Privacy and security issues are the main concerns when it comes to medical data management, with medical malpractices and fraud contributing to data leakage, selling of data, and mismanagement. Healthureum will, therefore, minimize economic losses that result from medical malpractices and cybercrimes.