Over time, more and more is being run by the internet. We do shopping online, we communicate online, we do banking online. We are sending information to several entities without even realizing it. Let’s give all these records a name: blocks. Then what do we call a sequence of these blocks? That’s easy, you’re right, blockchain. The invisible technology that can change the world.
Think of blockchain as a historical fabric underneath recording everything that happens exactly as it occurs (Marvin, 2017). The data are transformed into transcripted blocks, unabling modification, and can be accessed across the whole world. The fact that everyone can access it, does not mean it is vulnerable for fraud, and that’s what is the most amazing part about this new system. Failure of the blockchain is impossible; there is no chance for hacking or corruption. The most (or only) well-known example of blockchain is the Bitcoin. Major industries are beginning to shift towards the blockchain principle, yet so little is known about it, making it one of the most misunderstood technologies of 2017.
For those who are still part of that group that does not understand it, watch and learn!
Let’s pick an industry, and try to understand the implications of blockchain for this industry: healthcare. There are several ways in which blockchain could possibly be adopted in this industry, improving performance, from which I will explain one. Health organizations can direct information to blockchain, allowing the information to arrive immediately at the place necessary, obviously without enabling people to unrightfully access it. The clinical data gets tracked in the health system, after which for example a doctor or pharmaceutical can access the necessary information. A patient’s ID is however non-identifiable for a layman. The next step would be that analysis can be conducted on these data, combined with patient’s characteristics by entities who have the right to access the data. Patient’s IDs are still non-identifiable (Deloitte, 2016).
With this system, new insights can be uncovered and potentially new medical cures or systems can be developped. Blockchain implemented in the healthcare industry is still in its infacy and far from ready-for-use, but the idea is there. Now it is important that the right people are working on it, in order to make sure the healthcare industry is not lacking behind related to new technologies.
So what do you think, will this work? And are there more ways in which blockchain can be implemented in the healthcare industry?
