Abstract
Recent developments in blockchain technology have made it an increasingly interesting subject of research. In addition to financial applications, many studies are being conducted to explore its potential outside of this realm. The healthcare sector is one of the most relevant fields where blockchain has the potential to have a major impact. There have been rapid advances in blockchain implementation and understanding, particularly in this field in recent years. With superior privacy capabilities, blockchain technology is an excellent tool to deliver information and services in the healthcare sector. While these developments are a positive sign, a few issues still need to be addressed in order to make a significant difference. The chapter discusses key fundamentals of blockchain technology, potential applications in several fields of health care, obstacles to the adoption of blockchain technology, as well as the concerns it aims to alleviate in the healthcare industry going forward.
TopObjectives
This chapter's contributions are summarized as follows:
- 1.
The first section addresses issues plaguing the healthcare industry. Several challenges have been identified including those related to security monitoring, data sharing, and interoperability as well as logistical and organizational obstacles, all of which require novel approaches.
- 2.
Second, this chapter introduces the concept of blockchain technology. There are comprehensive descriptions of the main elements and attributes of the technology. An explanation of how the technology works is given, along with a classification system which categorizes the blockchains based on requirement and applications. This subsection aims to provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of blockchain technology.
- 3.
Lastly, the chapter discusses how blockchain technology can be applied to healthcare and its advantages. Industry projects currently being worked on are highlighted, which may provide insight into the future of this technology. Additionally, constraints and risk factors are outlined, which must be considered to ensure seamless future developments and implementations.
TopIssues With Existing Infrastructure
Due to specific regulatory guidelines to safeguard sensitive medical data, healthcare as a sector has specific standards for data protection and confidentiality (McGhin et al., 2019). Modern technologies, including cloud computing and portable healthcare equipment, have made the exchange of information and knowledge more widespread. However, they have also increased the risks of criminal activity and the exposure of confidential information (Ratta et al., 2021a). The following are some challenges faced by the medical industry concerning security management, data compatibility, information exchange and logistical inadequacy.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Distributed ledger: Distributed ledgers are shared repositories synchronized and maintained simultaneously by multiple stakeholders (nodes), accessible by numerous parties with equal rights. Any modifications made to the ledger are reflected and made available to all stakeholders shortly after they are implemented. In the network chain, each node can access the complete set of data available across the system.
Consensus Mechanism: Conflicts among nodes will undoubtedly occur in decentralized networks with a distributed structure. By working together through the appropriate channels, the interconnected entities will reach a common understanding, preserving the integrity of the system. This is known as a consensus mechanism. A decentralized network uses it to solve the synchronization issue.
Internet of Things (IoT): It is a continuously evolving global network with autonomous functionality based on standardized protocols for communication. IoT consists of tangible and digitized 'things' equipped with sophisticated communication mechanisms and seamlessly connected as an information network, each of which has its own unique characteristics and features. They can be engaged without human intervention.
Blockchain: This is a distributed network infrastructure based on protocols, which archives and manages information in a network of devices. The blockchain establishes logical guidelines for the arrangement of blocks in an electronic protocol for distributed processing. Linked together, successive authorized transaction blocks form a chain of exchanges, known as a blockchain.
Homomorphic Encryption: It is a type of encryption where data that has been encoded can be analyzed without the information having to be decrypted. Data confidentiality is essential in many fields, making homomorphic encryption a useful tool for handling information with data protection considerations and numerous regulations. Models infer from encrypted info, so they cannot access private client information. This prevents data from being compromised or exposed. For any computation, the end user and the model operator need not communicate.
Smart Contract: A software-based agreement that embeds all provisions of the arrangement explicitly into code between all stakeholders in an auto-deploying contract. Whenever the predefined requirements are fulfilled and validated, this code triggers the desired actions. Upon confirmation of the transaction, the blockchain gets updated. The automated nature of these processes, coupled with the preset parameters, makes them more reliable and safer than other methods of action assignment.
Hashing: The process of using a cryptographic hash algorithm to encode information, resulting in a comparatively distinct result from data sources of varying sizes. In order to verify the data's integrity, hashing the input data can be used to produce identical outputs. The output will be quite distinct if even the slightest modification is applied to the source data.