Blockchain in Healthcare: Use Cases and Opportunities
Blockchain has so many uses in society beyond use as a “digital gold,” despite what critics may think. One of the major uses of blockchain is for the improvement of the health industry.
Blockchain can help secure records, order proper tests, and ensure prompt payment—but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Read on to discover all of the potential blockchain uses in the healthcare industry.
Current Healthcare Issues
No matter where you live in the world, privacy when it comes to healthcare data is a huge concern. Not only do you not want a potential employer to turn you down for a condition you can’t control, but you also don’t want those you don’t give permission to have access to your records.
While this isn’t as big an issue in Europe as it is in the US, healthcare data needs to be protected no matter what—something which is difficult to do with current systems. Especially when you consider that these systems have been the target of many hackers in years prior, and will likely continue to be targets in the future.
Additionally, in the US, payment is also an issue. Paying for medical care requires several steps, and information that must pass through several hands before it finally arrives back at the patient. This causes a huge delay in payment, and sometimes, with high amounts, there aren’t sufficient payment options for patients.
How Blockchain Can Help
1. Ending Data Fragmentation
It is very hard to track healthcare data, no matter where you are in the world. Not only does treatment tend to span facilities, but also different providers, making it difficult to provide continuous care to patients.
Blockchain can help with this; by offering a single space to store healthcare data, of which the key can be shared with various healthcare providers as needed to access different care.
2. Ensuring Privacy
The number of doctors’ offices that still store data in physical folders along a wall is quite high. While many have transitioned to digital records, there are still far too many practices that store data in a single place.
Blockchain can solve this as well, because unlike a row of physical files in an office, only those with the proper key can access specific data on the blockchain, making it more private. Plus, the blockchain won’t be destroyed in a fire or flood either.
3. Giving Control Back to the Patient
Right now, patients have very little control over their data. If they want to move to a new practice, they need to call their previous doctor and request that their files be sent over. Items like X-ray and MRI results are often retained by the doctor alone and aren’t even given to the patient.
With blockchain technology, the control of this data goes back to the patient, as they would need to scan a QR code before receiving care, thus cumulating all of their data back on that same file. This ensures that the data is in their hands the next time they need it—if they want to switch to a new practice or see a new specialist.
4. Ease of Payment Processing
Right now, payment processing is the bane of most US healthcare providers’ existence. Not only do they need multiple staff trained in multiple types of insurance, but they also need to chase down individuals for payment when it comes due—something which is difficult when individuals move at the drop of a hat.
With blockchain, it would be easy to send a notification to the owner of a certain file that payment is due, and translation chains could be used to ensure the doctor simply submits the information once, and it is translated for the specific insurance provider. It would also make it easy for the patient to set up a payment plan with dApps, pay whenever they need to, and lower the chances of bad payments, which come in the form of a check.
5. More Cohesive Care
With all of the separate facilities, doctors, and tests, sometimes patients forget about a certain test result. And who can blame them? Life moves fast, and that one high cholesterol result you got three years ago is probably the least of your worries.
Blockchain stops this entirely. With all of the data in one place that can be provided upon request (and the patient can provide immediately), it is much easier to ensure cohesive care and that all information is provided upon request.
Plus, if a patient is taken for emergency care to a hospital they don’t normally visit, the hospital can scan the QR code and be immediately informed of allergies, past surgeries, and any underlying health problems.
Why Isn’t Blockchain Already in Healthcare?
In some areas, blockchain is already being tested for its uses in healthcare. The issue is, a change like this is drastic and will take years, maybe even decades to complete.
First and foremost, as we already mentioned, many healthcare companies/practices use legacy systems which aren’t conducive to transferring data to the blockchain…at all. Many doctors just look at the process, cringe, and continue as is. It will take a huge, probably regulatory, push to force anything to change.
The second block is HIPAA, which maintains the right to audit how an office stores its medical data. Unfortunately, there is no way to audit the blockchain, and HIPAA doesn’t like this, as it would put them out of a job, often making them one of the biggest groups against blockchain in healthcare, even though it would benefit society as a whole.
The last issue is that the healthcare in the US is not a system like it is in many other countries. This means to implement blockchain, everyone, all insurance providers, healthcare providers, and government social providers would need to reach a consensus on utilizing blockchain in the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, we don’t think that day is coming soon, but we do have hope for the future that everyone will eventually agree that blockchain in healthcare is best for everyone.
