A Survey on Blockchain for Healthcare Informatics and Applications

Abstract

Blockchain, cryptographically linked blocks of data, is the key technology behind the infamous cryptocurrency Bitcoin, however, blockchain can serve more use cases than just cryptocurrency. The technology has use cases in any industry that generates and transfers data. In a use case such as cryptocurrency the blockchain is used to manage transactions from peer-to-peer in a way that does not allow for that transaction’s data to be manipulated by one of the involved parties or a third party. This is a valuable process that other industries could leverage. One such industry that could benefit from applying blockchain technology for a multitude of cases is the healthcare industry. Primary care doctors could be connected to a blockchain system that allowed them to access patient data and securely monitor the respective patient, pharmaceutical companies could increase their products validity in the marketplace with individual product tracking, and the insurance industry could trust all the information about a client. All of these are possible use cases for blockchain in the healthcare industry. Currently, the healthcare industry is not leveraging the blockchain at scale. Within this paper we are going to explore the possibilities for blockchain technology and the use cases in the healthcare industry specifically, and how the different industries within the healthcare industry can implement a blockchain system.