With the changing healthcare situation in the modern era, the protection of patient data is as important today as it has been. With data breaches and cyber attacks on the rise, it is more than ever necessary to have trustworthy secure methods of keeping sensitive medical information safe. Technology emerging under such a circumstance is Blockchain. A blend of cryptocurrency, Blockchain is also being put forward as a solution to end patient data safety and revolutionizing the healthcare process.
Understanding Blockchain in the Healthcare Sector
Blockchain is one type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in which data are distributed. The information received gets encrypted safely within each unit or “block” and is deposited there. Blocks are linked to one another, thus creating a seamless, unbroken chain. Its very nature gives it virtually no room to get modified, erased, or hacked by anyone without leaving any audit trails behind.
In the health sector, Blockchain provides a new paradigm for protecting and storing the patient information. In conventional health systems, the patient data are placed in central databases that remain accessible and vulnerable to hackers’ attacks. Blockchain medicine could potentially provide an open, decentralized, and highly secure platform for holding patient data. By implementing Blockchain security features, physicians can ensure the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of patient records. Blockchain in Hospitals: A Game Changer
Hospitals’ use of Blockchain technology is in its infancy but can revolutionize health care. The patient data are among the greatest challenges to the hospitals. The patient information are very disintegrated among various systems, and the health care providers are therefore not able to obtain the right, up-to-date information at the right time. Such disjoined information is capable of leading to errors, delays in treatment, and higher health care costs.
With Blockchain, hospitals can have a single digital copy of medical information available instantly for authorized medical staff. With every new input of information test, diagnosis, or medication adjustment—it is securely added to the Blockchain and available to all who are cleared appropriately instantly. Not only is this efficient process less costly, but healthier patients ensue as well with no room for human error whatsoever.
Second, the decentralized aspect of Blockchain is that patient data are not held in one place. Rather, it is spread over a network of nodes and hence far less susceptible to attack or loss. Even in the event of half the network being compromised, the other half remains operational and patient information can still be accessed.
One of the strongest features of patient health data security is that they are the owners of their own health data. Blockchain holds the potential to enable patients to have ownership over their own health data in the sense of the power to give permission or revoke it to view their medical history with a couple of button clicks. Such control over their own health data is something which none of the existing healthcare systems have.
With Blockchain, individuals can provide unambiguous consent regarding who they should share their information with, when, and for how long. It is rich in privacy and keeps patients fully in charge of whose hands their information is in. Additionally, Blockchain’s tamper-evidence guarantee ensures patient records are well-documented, as well as a verifiable record of who viewed the information and why.
Healthcare Billing Transparency and Fraud Prevention
Fraud is a criminal act in the healthcare profession, and most frequently it takes place when payers are charged for unbilled services or patient charts are manipulated for reimbursement. Healthcare blockchain is an answer to this problem in that it generates an open and immutable record of every transaction, including billing. It guarantees all treatment, procedures, or drugs are documented, and fraudsters can’t manufacture or manipulate them.
Aside from this, Blockchain technology can provide end-to-end real-time payment and bill history at a reduced administrative cost with transparency to patients, insurers, and providers of care. Patients can be allowed to see bills and follow treatment history in such a way that they are able to determine errors or inconsistency.
The Future of Blockchain in Healthcare
The ability of Blockchain to revolutionize healthcare is certain but has to cross a few barriers to gain common adoption. These include regulatory barriers, compatibility with existing healthcare infrastructure, training and education of healthcare professionals. But as more healthcare organizations begin to pilot Blockchain, the benefits will always outweigh the drawbacks.
Overall, Blockchain in healthcare is reshaping the way towards a safer, more transparent, and more efficient healthcare system. Since hospitals are now implementing Blockchain technology, healthcare professionals are able to provide quality care with enhanced security of patient data against abuse. With technology advancements, its effect on healthcare security and processing data will be revolutionary, guiding the environment towards a more trustworthy direction by patients and healthcare providers.