HC3: Applications, Benefits of Blockchain in Healthcare

Blockchain technology is the basis of most cryptocurrencies, but the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center’s (HC3) latest brief suggested that blockchain has a multitude of useful applications in the healthcare sector.

A blockchain is a tamper-resistant, secure, and collaborative ledger that maintains transactional records, HC3 explained. A block is a unit of data, or one record, that contains a collection of transactions. When arranged with other blocks in a specific order, a blockchain is formed.

Each block contains data, a hash, and a previous hash. The purpose of the blockchain dictates the type of data. A hash is a digital fingerprint that identifies the block, and a previous hash links the current block to the previous block, providing an extra security measure.

“A block is connected to the previous one by including a unique identifier that is based on the previous block’s data. As a result, if the data is changed in one block, it’s unique identifier changes, which can be seen in every subsequent block (providing tamper evidence),” the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) explains on its website.

“This domino effect allows all users within the blockchain to know if a previous block’s data has been tampered with. Since a blockchain network is difficult to alter or destroy, it provides a resilient method of collaborative record keeping.”

Blockchain mechanisms have numerous applications, but are specifically useful for supply chain transparency in healthcare, HC3 suggested.

Specifically for pharmaceuticals, the challenge is “assuring the authenticity, origin and supply chain of medical products – easier said than done in a globalized world where international commerce can create complications,” HC3 maintained.

This is especially crucial in developing pharmaceutical markets where counterfeit medical devices and prescriptions can lead to injury or death. Blockchain gives organizations to track every step of the pharmaceutical supply chain from the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the pharmacist, and finally to the patient.

HC3 also suggested that blockchain can provide added security measures to electronic health records (EHRs).

Currently, it can be difficult to ensure that patients have access to their medical records across all service providers and still maintain proper security. Errors and missing information in EHRs can result in complications with care coordination.

“Blockchain-based medical record systems can be linked into existing medical record software and act as an overarching, single view of a patient’s record without placing patient data on the blockchain,” HC3 continued.

“Each new record can be appended to the blockchain in the form of a unique hash function, which can only be decoded if the person who owns the data – in this case, the patient – gives their consent.”

Blockchain allows patients and providers to use a secure system for medical records while advancing analytics and cutting out third-party intermediaries.

HC3 posited that blockchain could change the healthcare industry for the better by providing secure and confidential access to data, more trustworthy goods and services, less fraud, cheaper prices, and further innovation.