Blockchain for healthcare induces ideas, ideas that could change and transform the medical industry forever. The healthcare space is one of the most important for our civilization, it is something that’s one of the most important parts of life. Our mortality rate has been ever-increasing, and the same can be said for the deteriorating quality of life of patients in hospitals and those seeking medical treatments.

No matter which country of the world you live in, healthcare should essentially be either taken care off by the government or your medical insurance. The thing is, the money allocated towards healthcare hardly reach the masses in most cases, and it is one of the most important reasons for why we need blockchain in healthcare. Blockchain in healthcare could help keep a public track of transactions and keep the system transparent at all levels.

Blockchain and Internet of Medical Things

IoMT is the new buzzword in the medical field, there have been speculations about things as meager as pills, beds, can be implemented with devices to check vitals, and do much more for the patient. The main reason for popularity brought about by IoT was how it can be used to concur data from millions of different devices and process it as per users’ needs.

Micro transactions have always been one of the greatest achievements associated with blockchain. In the coming time, the micro transaction for IoMT enabled devices will aid humanity on extraordinary levels. The concept of IoT being brought about in something that holds sheer importance to our existence is exactly what the visionaries craved.

Imagine your vitals somehow not functioning well, and the doctor is notified, without any other human interaction, and would send help or nursing staff. Or suppose someone is about to slip in a coma due to lack of oxygen, the oxygen supply could be increased on its own, using IoMT enabled devices/monitors. The ways it would work for medical aids is incomparable to any other use of blockchain in healthcare, as it’s one of the most important things for humanity as a whole. It would significantly improve our standard of living while ensuring a peaceful and happy life for everyone.

Blockchain for managing and maintaining medical records.

Medical records are something you might not want to share, something that comes on top when it comes to privacy. Apart from general medical id, blockchain could potentially store even paracetamol you took in a mild fever. Whenever you need medical assistance, the past records need to be figured before proceeding forward, and blockchain can certainly help.

The greatest example of this is if you have pacemakers or stents in your body, you can’t get an MRI done. Some hospitals ensure they check for it before taking further steps, but some might just let it slip, and this will be life-threatening. With blockchain in healthcare, a network for hospitals can be created, maintain logs of how and when the patient was treated before.

With normal life devices getting focused on maintaining the health of individuals, the question is how could bring that data to use at the time of need. The apple watch is currently capable of generating an ECG that can detect atrial fibrillation, but still can’t transmit data on its own when someone lays lifeless in an ambulance. The need for a blockchain in healthcare fits right here, the data should automatically be sent on the network for use by doctors, we can only imagine the number of lives it could save.

Blockchain for fund management

As discussed above, we believe the responsibility for tax-paying citizen’s health lies with the government, or with their medical insurer. However, here we will discuss how it can be used to manage funds that are to be allocated to the public by the government. A public blockchain could aid this, the transactions can be recorded and fed into the public blockchain for everyone in the network to see. No one can escape or delete the records of the transactions they performed.

Let’s assume that the funds allocated could aid everyone that is below the poverty line in India, it works on the state level, but let’s assume for once. The medical hospitals here are made to work through suggesting wrong surgeries and medications to the poor, the surgery won’t be performed, and the money would be distributed to everyone who is a part of the crime.

With blockchain in healthcare, we can transfer the power to the public, they would only transact with their private key when they are assured that the work or operation has been done. The scam doesn’t just cost money, it costs the nation in every worse possible way. The fund could help millions of poor who remain helpless in hospitals trying to get treatment for themselves.

Conclusion

These were the basic implementations of blockchain technology that could aid the healthcare industry of wrongdoings and could help build a stronger network for patients. The records to be used in an emergency can very well be used as per needs with blockchain technology at the core. The IoMT devices would soon fill the missing space, and blockchain would be at its core.

Tackling healthcare problems and improving it is what a blockchain company could do, but we need to understand that blockchain technology can’t do everything. Keeping practical expectations is great, and the niches we specified can seriously be straightened by using blockchain technology. It is no rocket science but is something that can ensure the things flow smoothly and humans get the treatment they deserve, through a corruption-free healthcare system.

This article is contributed by Jitu Bhaskar, one of the founders of Semidot Infotech, a mobile application and website development company.

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