Leveraging Blockchain, Smart Contracts, and NFTs for Streamlining Medical Waste Management: An Examination of the Vietnamese Healthcare Sector

Abstract

Medical waste is deemed hazardous due to its potential health implications and the predominant practice of discarding it post six months of utilization. Furthermore, the reusable proportion of such waste is minimal. The implications of this scenario were brought to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic when sub-optimal medical waste management was identified as a factor exacerbating the spread of the virus worldwide. The predicament is particularly grave in developing nations, such as Vietnam, where the underdeveloped state of medical infrastructure renders efficient waste management a daunting task. The waste management challenge also stems from the significant roles played by different stakeholders (healthcare workers and patients confined to isolation wards), whose actions directly influence waste classification, impact the waste treatment process, and indirectly contribute to environmental pollution. Given that waste management involves a chain of activities requiring the coordinated efforts of medical, transportation, and waste treatment personnel, inaccuracies in the initial stages, such as waste sorting, can negatively impact subsequent processes. In light of these issues, our study puts forth a unique model aimed at enhancing waste classification and management practices in Vietnam. This model innovatively integrates Blockchain technology, smart contracts, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with the intent to foster an increased individual and collective consciousness towards effective waste classification within healthcare settings. Our research is notable for its four-fold contribution: (a) suggesting a unique mechanism based on blockchain technology and smart contracts, designed specifically to improve medical waste classification and treatment in Vietnam; (b) introducing a model for instituting rewards or penalties based on NFT technology to influence behaviors of individuals and organizations; (c) demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed model through a proofof-concept; (d) executing the proof-of-concept on four prominent platforms that support ERC721 - NFT of Ethereum and EVM for executing smart contracts programmed in the Solidity language, namely BNB Smart Chain, Fantom, Polygon, and Celo.