Will it Impact How Medicine is Practiced?
The medical field is notoriously reluctant to adopt new technologies, as the high stakes of changing how medicine is practiced means new technologies have to be thoroughly vetted before being implemented. However, the promise of blockchain technologies means a growing number of medical entities are taking a close look at using it as a foundational technology across a range of areas, and this momentum is only expected to accelerate in the coming years. Here are some of the reasons why blockchain technology is poised to have a major impact on how medicine is practiced worldwide.
Complement to Electronic Medical Records
One of the biggest changes in medicine in the 21st century is electronic medical records. In the past, doctors and others in the field depended on paper records, which were slow and cumbersome to transfer through mail or fax machines. Electronic medical records mean documents can be sent instantly, but the lack of interoperability between various platforms means the process can be ungainly. Blockchain technology can serve as a great foundation for a unified platform, giving EMR developers a great target. Furthermore, the open nature of blockchain technology will enable third parties to translate their records to be blockchain compliant if the original developers don’t offer support.
An Effective Backbone
While the benefits for EMR on the blockchain are clear, its potential goes much further. Billing management, in particular, can benefit greatly from a broad blockchain-based backbone by making it easy to access information about diagnoses and treatments. Another potentially revolutionary application of blockchain technology in medicine is for managing drug supply chains. Theft and inappropriate prescriptions are still common problems in medicine, and a unified blockchain could make it easier for regulators and investigators to detect problems. Furthermore, the blockchain can potentially allow researchers to access large sets of data that don’t compromise patient privacy, allowing them to generate useful findings.
Immutability Has Benefits for Medicine
One of the defining features of blockchain technology is its immutability—once something has been added to the blockchain, it can’t be removed. Although mistakes can be somewhat cumbersome to correct, this is outweighed by its protections against medical record fabrication, helping prevent fraud and cyberattacks. Furthermore, clues for doctors can often lie in unexpected places; a test conducted years or even decades in the past might provide insight into the diagnostic process. By keeping data in a unified, immutable place, doctors can scour information that would be difficult or even impossible to find using more traditional sources.
Privacy Benefits
At first glance, the blockchain may seem problematic in terms of patient privacy due to its decentralized nature. Regulations, including HIPPA and the GDPR, require high levels of data protection. Blockchain implementations for medicine require encryption to be compliant, and only those with proper authorization can gain access. Each patient will have a private key required to access data, providing more robust security than current medical record implementations. Today, most medical records are stored in locations that might offer only minimal security protections; moving to the blockchain could provide significantly better protection.
Reconceptualized Trust Relationships
Most medical organizations rely on third-party intermediaries for storing their data. This can lead to potential problems if the third party changes their practices or prices, and, ultimately, users have to put trust into another entity. By design, blockchain implementations are decentralized; no single party is in control of the information. Users won’t have to worry about whether their information is kept in a secure manner, and the costs involved tend to be far more predictable and reliable. Additionally, users won’t have to rely on another third party for data backups, as the information is distributed across a large network that doesn’t have the risk of being inaccessible due to hardware issues.
Potential Drawbacks
While blockchain technology has been around for a while, it’s still not as well tested as traditional databases. This could potentially lead to flaws that could compromise patient privacy and data integrity, and a shortage of qualified blockchain experts means medical organizations might have trouble implementing effective systems. Furthermore, moving to any new system will require a transition period, which may be challenging, especially for smaller organizations. Another potential drawback is the high energy demands of certain blockchain implementations, which might affect electricity bills and lead to concerns about environmental impacts. There are also potential legal problems that haven’t yet been resolved. If a court orders that information be removed from a blockchain that is, by design, immutable, how will this conflict be resolved?
Chance at a Reset
Although there are advantages inherent to blockchain technology, perhaps one of the biggest advantages of adopting the blockchain in medicine is simply the chance to start again. Currently, medical records, and especially electronic medical records, exist in a world where fragmentation is the norm. Data is rarely stored in a standardized manner, and the complexity involved means those working in the field must navigate a complicated landscape. In the transition to blockchain technology, the entire field has a chance to reset, enabling better interoperability and more effective user interface design. Whether the field as a whole is able to take advantage of this opportunity, however, remains to be seen, but the state of the current systems means it won’t be difficult to offer something superior.
Uneven Worldwide Implementation
Nations tend to have non-unified medical record processes, potentially limiting the full potential of blockchain technology, particularly for patients who receive care in different nations. Recent analysis from Data Bridge Market Research indicates that North America leads the way in implementing blockchain technology in medicine, while countries in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to grow at the highest rate through 2028.
Blockchain technology is often touted as a panacea, capable of solving a wide range of issues. Although the hype might seem to be overblown on occasion, the inherent advantages of blockchain implementations are too significant to ignore, especially in fields such as medicine, where data integrity and privacy is the top priority. It will be some time before most patients have their information stored in a blockchain, but current momentum suggests that the move is well under way.