Blockchain has a straightforward concept. All records stored in the blockchain and not saved on a single central storage unit. Multiple computers are running in the network called nodes and having a copy of all the blockchain data. Therefore, when something is updated on the blockchain, all network nodes are informed about it at once.
"Blockchain technology is set to change the way healthcare is managed forever. Blockchain allows clinicians and patients alike to be confident that the medical records are accurate and up-to-date as the distributed ledger guarantees an incorruptible, trustless version of the data that can be depended upon a time. An indisputable single version of the truth is not achievable with today's current systems and infrastructure."
This is what we mean by decentralization. There is no longer a single source responsible for all data.
Okay, that sounds good, but what are the challenges and how the blockchain can solve them?
Challenge #1: Accuracy of Medicines and Health Records
In today's healthcare sector, all records are stored in central data stores via excel tables. The situation is the same in the health sector, carried out by both state and private companies. Therefore, it is effortless to quickly change this data because someone who can access central data stores can change this data efficiently.
Likewise, all the information about a newly invented drug is stored in the central warehouses on computers. The fact that these central repositories become unusable causes all formulas and information to disappear immediately.
But thanks to the blockchain, thanks to thousands of nodes working in different parts of the world, all this information is stored in a hackable, unchangeable, and unalterable way. In this way, health and medicine information is protected with maximum security, unlike central data systems.
Challenge #2: Data Analytics is Time-Consuming and Resource-Heavy
Pharmaceutical companies need to deal with so many health and pharma sources; it is clear that there is a problem with data collection, processing, and ultimately with analytics.
For beginners, some essential data may fall from cracks during the first phase, diluting insights from analytics.
As if this isn't bad enough, harmonizing data from different sources can be quite time-consuming. Moreover, the long analytical process may not find insights that can help pharma.
It is clear, however, that the entire data processing process for pharmaceutical companies should change. After all, managing big datasets is a tough job for both small and large pharmaceutical companies.
Challenge #3: Central storages are expensive to use
Central storage systems have many expenses, like Rent expenses, electricity expenses, inventory expenses, employee expenses, and many more hidden expenses. Also, these expenses are not for one time only; they must be covered continuously.
The same reason lies behind the fact that central data stores can be easily manipulated, because people use it, controlled, and changed.
However, decentralized data stores are not under human control, and they do not need a workforce to work. Thanks to the blockchain and its smart contracts, the entire system operates automatically and is also transparent.
Featured projects and solutions developed in the blockchain sector
FLETA
FLETA
According to the Coindesk report: Blockchain startup Sendsquare (FLETA) has been selected by the government to develop a proof-of-concept project for the nation, which has around 3.6 million people with diabetes, the company announced on Friday.
The startup will team with clinical experts and practitioners from Seoul's KyungHee University Medical Center to analyze nine years' worth of diabetes clinical data previously collected by the center.
The use of blockchain in ordering and storing such a large amount of data will ultimately lead to efficiency improvements for healthcare staff, which means they will spend more time with the people who matter: the patients.
South Korea passed new data-related regulations that will be effective in December. Once the regulations are applied, more corporations are expected to look to blockchain's benefits for data management and storage.
States' desires to use blockchain technology and their efforts to achieve this are great. If the South Korea government accomplishes this, this could be a significant development for the healthcare industry around the world, so that more and more government and hospitals in the world can safely store user and pharma data on the blockchain.
In the light of these developments, South Korea, can the pathfinder.
CHAINLINK
"The Chainlink network provides reliable tamper-proof inputs and outputs for complex smart contracts on any blockchain."
Decentralized applications often require external data existing outside the blockchain to execute successfully, for example, financial market data for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
LINK is providing external data to smart contracts securely and reliably to match the underlying blockchain's security properties is a technical challenge, often called "the oracle problem."
This project is one of the most prestigious projects of the last years in terms of blockchain infrastructure architect. It performs as a price increase, but it also makes a lot of mention with its agreements and partnerships.
Chainlink has a robust infrastructure, and they have a stable place in the ecosystem with its smart contracts technology created over the Ethereum network. Its customers include Google, Binance, and including many more world giants.
Chainlink, one of the first projects that come to mind when it comes to smart contracts, wants to contribute to the health sector by building the smart contracts of blockchains created for use in the health sector.
Medicalchain
Medicalchain uses blockchain technology to create a user-focused electronic health record whilst maintaining a single accurate version of the user's data.
Medicalchain enables the user to give healthcare professionals access to their health data. Medicalchain then records interactions with this data in an auditable, transparent, and secure way on Medicalchain's distributed ledger.
The application called Myclinic.com utilizes Medicalchain technology to provide immediate retrieval of health records, thereby allowing patients to communicate directly with the doctors and share their health records for online consultations.
Giving a patient direct and regular access to their healthcare record and their service provision empowers patients to receive the best possible care.
The project also has some reliable partners like Blockchain Research Institue, Blockchain Policy Initiative, etc.
CONCLUSION
Especially with the DeFi FOMO, blockchain and cryptocurrencies have gained an essential place in the economic system. But the blockchain makes the most of technological opportunities and the broader ecosystem of uses cases waiting for us.
Health, which is one of the most critical sectors in the world, is part of this. While the use of financial instruments is growing at an incredible rate, it is more important than ever to apply blockchain technology to the health sector and change and make the entire system related to health data more robust.
(Disclaimer: The Author is associated with FLETA)