BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY BEYOND CRYPTOCURRENCY IN AFRICA (III)

UTILIZING BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN THE HEALTH SECTOR

Cyber Theft has gradually begun to encroach into other industries. A very alarming one will be the Healthcare industry. Research has shown that medical records are becoming very valuable in the Black market, and guess what! Its more lucrative than stealing credit cards! Cyber criminals have used medical data to cause personal distress, commit identity theft, expose private information to the public, and compromise accounts. The health industry has suffered more breaches in recent times with a staggering number of people affected. Research has shown that millions of health records are breached every year. The destructive possibilities of such a mishap are endless.

The Guardian in October 2017 reported a data loss scandal of 162,000 additional files missing from an initial 702,000 files from National Health Service(NHS). Medical data which include; Changes in patient drugs , treatment plans, patient’s progress report, results of various diagnostic tests, and so on. Patients will be at great risk, as drugs will be taken unnecessarily, repeat prescriptions, diagnosis delay, with absolutely no data to refer back to, information very crucial to a patient’s treatment will be lost.

It is important to manage patient’s healthcare at a superior level always. The sanctity of life cannot be over emphasized. People need to have trust and feel secure when approaching health institutions as regards their health. The answer to many of such issues are resolved in one idea, Blockchain technology.

Benefits of Blockchain Technology to healthcare;

Presently documentation in most Health organizations is scattered across different sections/departments and systems. Most of such documentation sadly still involves paper work. This makes access to information tedious and difficult most times than not. Although Blockchain is decentralized in nature, it is a security measure aimed at immutability. Documents on a blockchain are secure, cannot be altered, or hacked, first eliminating the possibility of sensitive personal information being revealed to unwanted parties. The decentralized nature also ensures integrity of all medical records. Data is carefully analyzed and stored. As a result accountability on the part of pharmaceutical agencies are also ensured as they need to be perceived as trust worthy in providing authentic drugs.

Further, data can be shared smoothly between healthcare providers (doctors, pharmacists) leading to accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and better service. Also, people will be responsible with handling their own records. Plus where information is shared with a third party, it is done without revealing identity. Transparency here in the blockchain allows for research in health studies and clinical trials due to properly documented analysis.

Another idea too good not to mention, is an avenue where cryptocurrency can be used as payment for medical services. Faster, smarter, no extra fees, eliminating middlemen, and advancing international transactions.