Health

How Blockchain Will Affect the Management of Patients’ Data

Billions of Dollars in potential savings and brand new healthcare tech

The healthcare industry could be preparing for an IT system overhaul with the implementation of new Blockchain technology impacting how patient records are stored and possibly saving billions of US$s

Since the introduction of the Blockchain, the much-debated architecture has gone beyond the original idea of creating a decentralized alternative to using fiat currencies and traditional banking systems instigating an unprecedented wave of new ways to use its technology. Numerous businesses are recognizing Blockchain’s powerful potential to streamline their current operations, in particular, the healthcare industry.

Improved Healthcare IT and Patient Record Management

It is no secret that healthcare records have been one of the industry’s most time consuming and costly admin overheads. Issues with privacy, accuracy, data entry updates and missing healthcare records have long been an expensive administrative headache; something that was seen in 2013 when British NHS healthcare abandoned its new patient record system costing taxpayers £10bn.

Fortunately, Blockchain experts have recognized similar issues with record keeping in a number of industries. As a result, new technology has been designed to securely track changes over multiple proprietary systems, which are traditionally fragmented and the cause of loss of or inaccurate data.

Applying the same principles to the healthcare industry, the newly developed Blockchain architecture is said to be the key to solving the ongoing patient record saga that has plagued the industry for far too long.

Within this architecture, a decentralized ledger will become the authoritative source for patient records. This will solve the issues that occur when transferring data across fragmented systems, but despite the Blockchain solution’s ability to rectify the main problems causing data inaccuracies, it has now raised the question of ownership of records.

Currently, the consensus is that ownership of patient records could be handed over to the patients. This solution could hypothetically take the burden of healthcare record management away from the healthcare sector altogether.

The Future Outlook for Healthcare and The Blockchain

Currently, the primary objective is to reduce IT costs presently plaguing healthcare providers in all areas of the industry. With some companies successfully implementing Blockchain tech to manage healthcare records already in place, the future of the Blockchain’s involvement in the healthcare sector is already being mapped out.

Furthermore, it isn’t only patient record management that is set to benefit from the implementation of Blockchain solutions. The new technology is also set to be introduced in other segments such as healthcare insurance sectors, prescription drugs tracking, and cold chain monitoring in order to streamline the industry as a whole.

This is all good news for investors monitoring the potential partnership between healthcare and the blockchain. It is said that the industry as a whole could potentially save up to $100 billion a year by 2025 using Blockchain solutions.

In addition to this, according to BIS, a US-based research company, the healthcare industry on the Blockchain will be worth $5.61 billion by the end of 2025. Currently, in 2018, the industry is said to be worth $176.8 million. 

If these estimates are correct, the Blockchain is already set to become a significant player in the healthcare sector, and investment in ICOs connected to the healthcare industry will almost certainly increase.

James Donaghue

My name is James, but most people call me Jim. I am a proud father, I enjoy playing sports and I love to travel. Another hobby of mine is keeping a close eye on the blockchain and its development. I have been investing in cryptocurrencies since early 2017; however, my journey into the blockchain began in 2015, which stemmed from a career in FOREX. Since that time I have provided regular market data analysis reports on the financial performance of mainstream as well as lesser-known currencies and ICOs. More recently I have become a regular blockchain news writer and research contributor.

Related Articles

36 Comments

  1. With everything that seems to be building within this specific subject material, many of your opinions are actually very radical. Having said that, I am sorry, because I can not give credence to your entire plan, all be it refreshing none the less. It looks to everyone that your comments are generally not completely justified and in reality you are your self not thoroughly confident of your assertion. In any event I did take pleasure in looking at it.

  2. My brother suggested I may like this web site. He was totally right. This put up actually made my day. You cann’t imagine just how a lot time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  3. Thanks for your post. I would also like to say this that the first thing you will need to do is determine if you really need credit restoration. To do that you will have to get your hands on a copy of your credit rating. That should really not be difficult, considering that the government mandates that you are allowed to obtain one absolutely free copy of your own credit report every year. You just have to check with the right people. You can either find out from the website for your Federal Trade Commission or contact one of the major credit agencies right away.

  4. When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

  5. I’ll immediately grab your rss feed as I can’t find your email subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly permit me understand in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.

  6. Hi there! This post could not be written any better!Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate!He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him.Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

  7. It is actually a nice and helpful piece of info. I am happy that you shared this helpfulinformation with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

Close