Blockchain in healthcare
Introduction
The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has made the world aware just how ill prepared the health industry is to handle a global pandemic. While the disease was detected early enough to prevent spread to other regions, the response systems in play especially regarding medical emergencies across countries made it difficult to contain it in time. this is especially because the information being communicated during the early stages of the outbreak did not communicate the seriousness of the situation. There are however measures that can be taken to not only improve sharing of information, but also help in managing crisis and future pandemics. Blockchain technology for instance can be used as a tool in the healthcare industry to assist in surveillance, information sharing and in so doing, make medical institutions better prepared for a pandemic in future.
Background
The spread of the Covid-19 across different geographic barriers can be attributed to the inefficiency of the systems put in place to address such situations. When the outbreak occurred, China was operating on a system that is an upgrade of systems put in place five decades ago (Meijer 1). Although the system may have been suitable for managing the country’s health industry, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the need to adopt better means of providing health not just in China, but across the world (Meijer 1). While attempts have been made to try and contain the virus, success in the projects undertaken have proved difficult as it is increasingly hard to share information. This creates a barrier as international communication is hindered and actions that require swift decision making tend to take longer than necessary, making it harder to overcome the pandemic.
Main issues
One of the issues that have made fighting the Covid-19 pandemic difficult is the lack of transparency and timely sharing of information. For there to be positive results, epidemiologists and other specialists tasked with resolving the crisis must have access to timely information regarding the disease, how it is spread, the way it affects people, symptoms and any other data that may help to better understand the disease (Bhattacharya et al 1). There are however various restrictions such as political hostilities and lack of trust that have made it difficult for countries to share date on how the disease has affected the country. Even though most countries are working together to resolve the crisis, the lack of transparency combined with factors such as language barriers, distance and location of the outbreak, to mention a few have negatively impacted progress.
Solution
Blockchain Technology is an ideal tool to help prevent future crisis from occurring and also help managing such a crisis if it occurs. Blockchain’s major advantage in the health industry is the boost it would give to the amount of data a health facility could hold and also how easily the data is accessible (Reiff 1). Blockchain relies on various technological advancements such as immutable audit trails, robustness, data provenance and decentralized management. This combined with the multiple nodes in the permissioned blockchains bear the capability to share data and report vital findings instantly without having to worry about issues related to security, privacy and other regulations. In the event of a crisis, health institutions, with the assist of blockchain technology, can therefore share information not just locally, but also with other countries without the risk of sharing sensitive and confidential information (Reiff 1). The actions taken during a pandemic will therefore be strictly be focused towards resolving the medical crisis with little politics being involved.
Blockchain can help health institutions by increasing the speed and safety in which information and data is shared, not only internally but with different countries when necessary. It can be used to track infections disease outbreaks by analysing public health data stored. Since blockchain offers security and helps maintain confidentiality, it also increases transparency which makes action more efficient as decisions are made faster (Jayaraman 7). In case of a pandemic, blockchain can be used to share information regarding how a disease is spread, symptoms, how to stop it and other measures that have been employed elsewhere and have yielded better results. Since blockchain allows for storage of huge amounts of data, it gives researchers access to all the information they need to manage the spread.
Blockchain can also help to track down the origin of the pandemic which could better explain the nature of symptoms experienced. Other than the disease itself, information about those affected, their previous medical conditions and any medical history could create better understanding of the disease (Jayaraman 7). When researchers are informed, the information they share to the public and those responsible for managing the spread serves as an added advantage as people are more comfortable tackling a problem they understand.
Blockchain can also help during pandemics by promoting supply chains in different sectors. Since trust is a major factor, the suppliers can act as the intermediaries where different health institutions and governments across different countries can supply raw materials. When making vaccines or cures, nations can depend on suppliers similar to how trade is conducted. Raw materials can make their way through various supply chains and reach across different parts of the world. Blockchain can make the supply chains more efficient by making information readily available to speed up processes. While the challenges during and after a pandemic have proven difficult to comprehend, blockchain technology can help make the recovery process faster and more efficient.
Work cited
Bhattacharya S, Singh A, Hossain MM. Strengthening public health surveillance through blockchain technology. AIMS Public Health. 2019;6(3):326–333. Published 2019 Sep 2. doi:10.3934/publichealth.2019.3.326
Jayaraman, Raja. King, Nelson, and Salah, Khaled, “Improving opportunities in healthcare supply chain processes via the internet of things and blockchain technology” International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics, 2019, retrieved from, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330875530_Improving_Opportunities_in_H ealthcare_Supply_Chain_Processes_via_the_Internet_of_Things_Blockchain_Techno logy
Meiejer, Carlo, “Blockchain and Corona virus: Could it prevent future pandemics?” 2020, retrieved from, https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/18570/blockchain-and-corona- virus-could-it-prevent-future-pandemics
Reiff, Nathan, “Blockchain explained” Investopedia, 2020, retrieved from, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blockchain.asp
