Is Blockchain the Next Big Disruption in Healthcare Industry?

When coming across the term “blockchain,” the first thought that comes to anyone’s mind is cryptocurrencies. However, cryptocurrencies are only one of the many the possible applications of blockchain technology. Outside the fintech space, the healthcare industry is one of the promising markets that is heavily investing in blockchain.

The healthcare industry is ready to leverage some of the emerging technologies, including the IoT, AR, VR, wearables, and blockchain to solve healthcare problems. For instance, electronic medical records are leveraging blockchain to improve patients’ accessibility to medical documents in a more secure manner. At the same time, blockchain is also facilitating medical research institutes to develop new drugs by making patient results more widely accessible.

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Blockchain implementations are also helping administrative bodies to decrease the volume of the counterfeit drug while simultaneously stopping health data infringements. According to Protenus Breach Barometer report, “In the last three years, approximately 140 million patient’s medical history was breached.” The unprecedented growth of IoT and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) are putting excessive pressure on healthcare IT to keep their infrastructure and systems well protected. Blockchain has the capacity to create the infrastructure needed to keep health data secure while reaping the benefits of connected medical devices.

These solutions only mark the onset of blockchain technology in healthcare; the future of blockchain-enabled healthcare management is sure to witness exciting innovations.

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By Eric Piscini, Principal Global Blockchain Leader, Deloitte​