Improving Healthcare Experience with Blockchain like Ethereum and Smart Contract

Posted by oodles blockchain on March 18th, 2020

We have assessed the potential of blockchain app development in the healthcare industry. We have primarily focused on the advantages of blockchain and how they revolutionize the healthcare industry. In this article, we focus on exploring the challenges faced by the healthcare sector and how the use of blockchain smart contracts solutions for instance with Ethereum address them quite efficiently. However, first, let’s examine what blockchain smart contracts really are, then delve into the intricacies of smart contracts and blockchain. 

Blockchain Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are blockchain-powered business protocols or contracts that facilitate the verification, enforcement, and performance of digital transactions automatically with optimum accuracy. Smart contracts enable transactions to execute even in the absence of third parties.

The healthcare sector faces various challenges, from an increasing number of patients, drug counterfeiting, middlemen, administrative inefficiencies, and more. Smart contracts powered by Blockchain’s decentralized applications can solve these challenges. They can facilitate secure and efficient transferring, retrieval, analysis, and management of healthcare-related information and data.

Challenges in the Healthcare Sector

Data Security and Integrity

With the increasing number of patients, healthcare providers witness a significant strain on their side. Managing and keeping patients’ health information, records, and data secure with IoT devices are arduous tasks for medical practitioners and healthcare providers. The data stored in centralized databases are always vulnerable to breaches, hacks, and threats. Indeed, in some cases, malicious actors have stolen patients’ health data for marketing purposes.

Then, there are medical insurance frauds that cost taxpayers in billions every year. Additionally, billing for services not rendered, excessive services and duplicate claims, and more are other critical instances of healthcare insurance frauds.

Inefficient Administration

Gross lapses and wastages administrate public health sectors around the globe.

In the US, hospitals splurge nearly a quarter of the budget on billing and administrative costs. Cases of readmissions, poorly managed patient flows, poor communication, and delays and lags further intensify inefficiencies in the healthcare administration.

Not only this but also patients spend a lot of time dealing with appointments, chasing down records, filling out forms, refilling prescriptions, and whatnot. Even physicians and nurses spend over hours to complete paperwork and conduct administrative tasks.

Read more- Blockchain Smart Contract Solutions