Crypto Academy / Season 4 / Week 3 - Homework Post for [@yohan2on] - Blockchain Technology in the Healthcare industry

In our third week of the cryptoacademy we can find the incredible task of professor @yohan2on, where he talks about the impact of blockchain technology in the health industry, a subject quite interesting and instructive for our knowledge, that is why this week I have decided to join your class

In the first week the professor was talking to us a little about blockchain with the implementation of IOT, we were able to learn a lot about the advantages of this union, in addition to the industry that supports it, which is "Filament", a very interesting topic and instructive.

That is why I do not doubt that this week we will learn a lot about this topic, where blockchain technology is still present.

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Blockchain technology continues to develop constantly faster around the world, millions of industries, companies, people, and contracts are the ones who decide to implement their services, since it offers us wonderful advantages that conventional technology cannot offer us. Among those wonderful advantages we can find decentralization, scalability and security that is a very important factor today, that is why blockchain continues to be more present in the market.

As we well know, Blockchain is an incredible tool that works to store data and files in a completely secure and transparent way, since its accounting system is totally public, which makes it totally transparent but without putting any type of data or information at risk. , since once they are entered in the blockchains, they cannot be changed or altered in their origin, which gives more security to your network.

That is why many sectors of the industries have decided to implement blockchain in their lives, such is the case of science, art, politics, sports, music, and even medicine, a very important branch for the human being. We know that medicine is a science that is always in constant evolution, and today some countries in the world have decided to implement this wonderful technology to solve some limitations that this industry was providing.

Next I will tell you a little about this.

• Blockchain applications in healthcare

The health industry is one of the most important and delicate that may currently exist in the world, as we know, not all countries can have good medical care, as well as supplies and other tools that are extremely important. to provide efficient patient stability.

Since 2019, the health issue has increased tirelessly due to the strong pandemic that hit us that year, which caused thousands of hospitals and medical centers to overflow with millions of people who had been victims of this deadly virus, bringing as a consequence that certain resources that were indispensable for people were exhausted.

Blockchain technology would have played a fundamental role if most medical centers had implemented it a few years ago, because although it is still in full development, there are many benefits that blockchain can offer the health industry, that is so I will talk about it in detail.

• Registration of personal / clinical data totally safe and organized.

How do we know, once we enter a medical health center, it is important that we fill out a form with each of our personal data, as well as another series of data that the doctor asks us to rule out any type of allergies, discomfort, among other series of tools that are essential for doctors to do their job.

Without this type of data, they cannot attend to us, since the doctors do not know what type of patient they are treating, be it one with heart problems, asthmatics, leukemics, diabetics, etc. Each one should be medicated according to their medical history.

Most of our personal data that we enter in medical centers, are not totally safe and reliable, either because they do not present the necessary tools or simply because they do not have space to save it, since imagine how many millions of people they will have registered.

That is why with the implementation of blockchain technology in the health industry, there would be a record of the data of each patient in a fully organized way and with more capacity to store data, in addition to the fact that said data ever they would be erased from the system, nor could they be altered or falsified, as one of the greatest characteristics of blockchain is immutability and security.

Therefore, we can conclude that:

🔴 Once the patient's data is successfully registered on the blockchain, it is impossible that the data can be changed, altered, or even falsified, it is one of the great advantages of blockchain.

🔴 A more organized and secure control of each of the patients' data would be carried out, making it possible for doctors and nurses to check it without any problem in the event of supplying or creating a specific drug.

🔴 It would avoid confusion or great risks that the patient's information could be maliciously altered, putting her life at risk.

🔴 Registering the patient's data will be much easier and faster, without intermediaries, or high teams that consume a lot of money.

🔴 The records of some patients would not be mixed with others, since each information is fully distributed and organized in the blockchain, without the risk that one interferes with another.

🔴 A broader control would be kept on each patient's consultation, as well as each procedure that is performed, each medication that is applied, etc.

Source

• Counterfeiting of medical supplies illegally

Currently there are many malicious people who seek to make money in a completely illegal way, such is the case of counterfeiting drugs in order to sell them in the market at a cheaper price so that millions of people can buy it, resulting in people being able to even reach death.

According to _source, in the country of the United States in 2018 only 1750 cases of fake drugs that had been put on the market illegally, putting people's health at risk, and this could pose a great danger, that is why with the implementation of blockchain this could be solved on a large scale , given that:

🔴 Each of the drugs or medical supplies must be entered into the blockchain in order to verify their authenticity.

🔴 In the event that a drug is false or illegal, it can be verified with the blockchain, since you can reach the origin of the creation of said drug or even its distributor, to quickly take action on the matter.

🔴 Some drugs that are put on the market work with very secure verification firms, such is the case of supplies that have labels with radio frequency identification standards.

🔴 Each drug distribution company must register its supplies within the blockchain, to ensure and validate them as legal and safe, to avoid risks to the health of people.

• Blockchain advantages in distribution

We can also find certain advantages in the area of ​​distribution of each medical input, for example;

🔴 It is possible to have a more organized control over each medical supply that enters the medical center, as well as to instantly verify how many are available and how many would have to be replaced again.

🔴 Surgical supplies such as gloves, gowns, masks, caps, etc., can be checked to see how many are available and thus achieve another order without running out.

🔴 With blockchain you can know exactly where each medical supply is in the hospital, to avoid wasting time looking for them.

🔴 High-tech equipment used in operations can also have a fully organized control within the blockchain, preventing malicious people from stealing them.

Blockchain is the best solution to carry a secure distribution on each input that enters the medical center, be it medicines, surgical supplies, equipment, among other tools that are essential for health.

• Blockchain and healthcare

We know that health care is really important, that is why with the implementation of blockchain it can improve, I will mention some aspects:

🔴 In the area of ​​analysis and examinations, it gives us a prolonged speed to obtain results in a faster and more efficient way, eliminating the slow processes that we are used to waiting.

🔴 Blockchain technology can also be combined with the internet of things in the health area, to provide greater ease for certain activities that patients cannot perform once hospitalized.

🔴 Blockchain unites millions of people around the world, therefore, thanks to this wonderful technology, different doctors from around the world can share collaborations with other doctors and thus achieve better patient care.

🔴 In health care, doctors can offer their patients a faster and more advanced system to record their data, which would save you time in consultations, since you would not have to spend rigorous minutes looking for your medical record.

🔴 There is a fundamental tool in medical care, which are the so-called electronic medical records, capable of identifying some medical trends according to the patient's history.

🔴 We know that patient data is fully protected on the blockchain, it cannot be changed or altered, therefore, if for any reason the patient attends another medical center, the same can show their history to the medical staff saving the long waiting time to enter your data, giving you the advantage that it cannot be changed

These and many other aspects that blockchain technology offers us, makes the medical care of patients completely satisfactory, providing us with the best tools for our health.

source

• Are there any limitations to blockchain technology in healthcare?

As everything has a good and a bad side, below I will mention some limitations that I consider that blockchain can present in the health industry:

• Perhaps not all medical centers in the world are in optimal conditions to implement blockchain technology in their development system, since as we know there are countries that do not have enough resources for it, and these resources can be large expenditure on computational resources.

• Every day innumerable amounts of data and records are recorded for each patient who enters, therefore, this could be a great limitation for the storage or space of the blockchain, since it could put its registration at risk scalability.

• We know that blockchain despite being decentralized, is completely public and transparent, which can put patients at a disadvantage who do not want others to know their medical history, as this can be exposed to unwanted people .

• Implementing a new technological tool for the advancement of health could be a great challenge for millions of doctors around the world, since it would be a great shock to the work structure with which they are used to working.

• Companies that work with blockchain technology, specialized in the health sector.

• IBM: It is an incredible American company based in the world of computing and technology, its main headquarters are in New York, under the command of its founder Charles Flint.

In 2016 this company that specializes in the distribution of computational resources such as software and hardware, suddenly began to integrate into the health sector, in order to offer them the best tools for the well-being and care of beings humans, and decides to buy the firm Truven Health Analytics, in order to provide the best tools to hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and any industry that has to do with health.

Source

• Hyperledger: As we well know, Hyperledger is an open source blockchain that offers thousands of tools for the good development of companies, thanks to blockchain technology. In 2016 he created a company called Change Healthcare in order to introduce blockchain in the healthcare industry.

John Bass is the developer of Change Healthcare, a company that specializes in the distribution of data and records, in addition to the speed in each of its transactions, reaching
550 per second in healthcare industries, such as dental centers, hospitals, drug distributors, etc.

Source

• Gem Healt: It is another of the great companies that have joined with blockchain technology to offer the health industry great advantages and benefits. It was created by its developer Micah Winkelspecht in order to guarantee medical centers a more organized level of distribution, whether with patient data or records, but also in the distribution of any medical input.

However, this is not all, since Gem Healt also includes several applications that may be of great interest to patients, be it medical news, progress, articles and any type of event or reminder regarding their health .

source

As well as these companies, there are also many others that are responsible for providing the best services to medical centers with the implementation of blockchain technology.

• ¿The future of medicine is blockchain?

As we know Blockchain is still in development, however, we have been able to witness the great benefits that this technology offers to the health industry, with its fully decentralized structure makes the health sector more respected and private for patients.

For sure we do not know if its future will definitely be blockchain, but what I am sure is that this technology aims to improve many aspects / limitations that medicine is currently presented, topics of which I spoke previously, such as data falsification, of medicines, to have a more organized structure, as well as to offer patients more efficient and advanced medical care.

The health industry is a very important branch, therefore, it must be accompanied by the best tools to provide patients with the best opportunities for their health, that is why I am very sure that if blockchain were implemented in almost all the medical centers of the world, would be a great advance for humanity, since it would be giving it a more advanced level in terms of health and well-being.

In the area of ​​research and new medical discoveries, blockchain technology would play a fundamental and important role, since such research can then be shown to other doctors for the purpose of learning and evolution, achieving more and more the development of new advances. , without the fear that this information will be altered or stolen, since that is the main characteristic of blockchain.

The future of medicine is still in development, as is this technology, but with the union of both I am completely sure that excellent results can be achieved, very beneficial for all human beings, that is why there is no doubt that blockchain is here to stay.

source

• Conclusion

We have reached the end of this task and we can conclude that blockchain technology has come to stay, such is the case of its implementation in the health area, with its multiple benefits and incredible advantages in this industry.

We can also note that the union of blockchain with the internet of things can also be an incredible union in the health area, offering us thousands of windows and benefits. That is why today technology evolves in such a way that we are increasingly surprised by its incredible advances, such is the case of blockchain with the medical industry.

I thank professor @yohan2on for his wonderful classes these weeks, where he taught us that this technology has a lot to offer us today, as well as the case of the internet of things and in the health industry, I hope to continue participating in their classes more often, it's an honor.

Until next time.