Blockchain In Healthcare

Blockchain is a distributed and immutable ledger. It can be permission- less like Bitcoin or permissioned like Hyperledger Fabric. Actors in a permissioned network are known in advance. This helps in setting up access to data in various levels according to some predefined rules.Blockchain can also help in establishing trust between trustless parties and enable them to do business together.

Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) was an act passed by the United States Congress to help and protect consumers from contaminated, fake or expired drugs. Blockchain can be applied to this case as it can provide transaction history and transaction information at each stage of the supply chain.

Other blogs have been written in detail regarding all of the above advantages. I would like to focus on two specific topics: Counterfeit medication and End of life destruction of drugs.

Healthcare industry in developing countries is plagued by counterfeit drugs. This can occur in various forms such as improper dosage of the active ingredient, having the wrong active ingredient or having no active ingredient at all. Taking such drugs can result in reduced treatment effectiveness, unexpected side effects or potentially even death.

Blockchain can provide easy access to patients who can verify the lifecycle of a drug from a single immutable source. By having a digital track and trace for each drug we can prevent the entry of counterfeit medication back into the supply chain. Proof of destruction for expired medication is made easy and accessible by having a single immutable source.

IOT coupled with blockchain presents a compelling use case to prevent degraded drugs from entering the supply chain by having a consistent record.

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