Blockchain Technology in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Healthcare industry is one of the most data-intensive fields where data is produced in large volumes due to diagnostics, treatment, patient monitoring, and even clinical trials. As a high-quality and large amount of information that is essential for diagnosing patients and conducting clinical and other studies, it has limitations in secure data exchange due to restrictive legislation, confidentiality, and fragmentation. These challenges are solvable with the help of the blockchain technology that was originally designed for the financial industry, but it is useful in any sphere where data integrity, transparency, and verifiability are required and cannot be achieved through the use of the command-and-control hierarchy. Blockchain technology as applied in this paper aims at focusing on the applicability of blockchain in integrating smart contracts in the healthcare sector in a bid to enhance management of data and enhance the interoperability of the healthcare sector. Real-world limitations are thoroughly described including security and privacy as well as further perspectives that blockchain may have. The existing paper also discusses the technical, privacy, and cost considerations of implementing blockchain technology in the healthcare context, highlighting that more research and collaboration between the healthcare and technology industries is required to unlock the full potential of blockchain in health care delivery.