#blockcahin technology

Alibaba’s Koala Haigou Taps Blockchain for Supply Chain and Logistics 

Koala, the cross-border e-commerce marketplace acquired by Alibaba Group in September 2019, has adopted Ant Financial’s blockchain solution, to foster transparency in its supply chain and eliminate goods mismatch, according to a Sina Finance report on March 17, 2020. Alibaba Taps DLT for Product Traceability In a bid to significantly reduce opacity in its supply chainRead More

Microsoft Unveils Its Azure Blockchain Development Kit

Microsoft has announced the first iteration of the Azure Blockchain Development Kit. The set of tools is designed specifically for developers looking to use the resources developed by the technology giant to create their own business-focused blockchain systems. Azure Development Kit The...

Blockchain Technology in Healthcare

Health information technology and information security specialists are hearing a lot about blockchain these days. “It’s the answer to interoperability.” And “the technology can solve healthcare’s looming security problems.” But what the heck is blockchain, anyway? The so-called digital ledger technology was developed in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, a possibly pseudonymous person (or perhaps multiple people) who designed it as the underpinning for the exchange of the digital cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin.

Blockchain transactions are logged publicly and in chronological order. The database shows an ever-expanding list of ordered "blocks," each time-stamped and connected to the block that came before it — thereby constituting a blockchain.Crucially, each block cannot be changed, deleted or otherwise modified: it's an indelible record that a given transaction occurred. That’s exactly what has many in healthcare excited about blockchain's potential for data security. Its open and decentralized nature could lend itself well to managing health records and proving identity. Rather than a central database, the blockchain record can be distributed and shared across networks, with credentialed users able to add to – but not delete or alter – the transaction log. Transactions are encrypted and must be verified by the network.

"The software used to build a chain ensures that everyone on the network sees, validates, and confirms each proposed next block of data in the chain," Brian Behlendorf explained in a blog post for HIMSS.

"For example, if any node on the network tries to transfer a particular asset twice, to two different parties, that transaction would not be validated by others on the network, and there would be no agreement to add it as a new block on the chain," said Behlendorf, executive director of Hyperledger, an open-source collaborative launched by the Linux Foundation to advance the use of blockchain beyond bitcoin transactions.

Behlendorf also spotlighted the importance of so-called smart contracts on the blockchain ledger: "simple software programs that runs across all nodes in the network and can extend the validation logic at each node in a way that is automatable and undeniable." In healthcare, for example, such smart contracts could be deployed as an "authorization process and confirmation step that notifies the patient – or even puts them in control – when their data is shared from one address to another."

Behlendorf said that because blockchain technology is distributed by design, storage space is limited, so small data or metadata is preferable. The option is to store records or files either on- or off-chain, he said. Large healthcare files such as imaging scans or PDFs wouldn't need to be stored entirely on the chain, but could be linked to it with a hash, or cryptographic numeric fingerprint, to ensure it hasn't been altered.

While one of the strengths of blockchain is its visibility and therefore accountability, not all blockchains are publicly available, he said.

"Just as you might have a private network at your house, or use a VPN to connect to the office, there will be private or consortium chains running between specific organizations, perhaps with a legal or regulatory agreement binding the participants," Behlendorf said.

A healthcare organization, for example, could "limit its network nodes to only HIPAA-covered entities, in addition to encrypting some data and leaving other data off-chain to provide multiple layers of security."

Blockchain Technology in Healthcare

In general, blockcahin technology is a distributed system that is used to record and store transaction records. To be more specific, blockchain is a shared, unchanged record of peer – peer transactions made from linked transaction blocks and stored in a digital ledger. Blockchain technology relies on already-established cryptographic techniques that allow each participant in a network to interact. Interaction means that each participant can store, exchange, or view information without preexisting trust between the involved parties. In blockchain technology, there is no central authority. Instead, all transaction records are stored and as well distributed across all participants in the network. Interactions within the blockchain should be known by all participants and may require verification by the network before one can add information. This enables trustless collaboration among network participants while recording a changeable audit trail of all interactions.

Blockchain system is similar to a database which stores data but the main difference is that data in a blockchain is located in a network of personal computers called nodes where there is no central controller of the data. Instead blockchain data is shared publically to each network participants or those with permissions.

Use of Blockchain in healthcare

Blockchain technology has emerged as the main business focus for many institutions and industries such as healthcare. This technology has the potential to promote healthcare information technology placing the patient at the center of healthcare ecosystem by increasing security, interoperability of health data, privacy and digital health survey.

Blockchain technology has offered a new data structure that has as well provided a new model for healthcare information exchanges by making medical data more efficient, secure and disinter-mediated. While all this is not a panacea, this new technology has rapidly evolved providing a fertile ground for investment, experimentation, storage of digital ledgers for assets, and proof of concept testing.

Below are the ways in which blockchain technology has been used in healthcare:

1.      Clinical trials- This modern technology has become a new way of storing clinical trials data preventing fraud altering or modifying for such crucial data.

2.      Drug Tracing- This technology is very important when it comes to traceability of each transaction between pharmacists, patients, wholesalers and drug manufactures. Blockchain enables tracking and verification of each transaction securing drug production process that is important in dealing with issues such as production of counterfeit drugs.

3.      Genomics research- With the help of blockchain technology, researchers are now able to access secured genetic data.

4.      Smart contracts- Smart contracts are now possible with blockchain where some rule-based methods have been created for patient data access. With this, permissions are given to select health institutions or organizations.

5.      Authentication and improvement of medical records- Blockchain has generally improved the protocols applied on health record sharing making the whole process safe and effective.

6.      Electronic Health Records (EHRs)- Blockchain technology has beenable to enhance major features of HER systems such as:

o   Cyber security- This is enabled through data access management where each piece of data contain user permissions for patients, nurses, doctors and other authorized users. Only authorized persons can access EHR data.

o   Immutability- Each event on blockchain containsa unique hash that corresponds to the data on record. This enables content or data users to verify if the contents have been changed or not.

o   Interoperability- In this, each participant has a record linked to the original record as registered by blockchain. Everyone with responsibility or appropriate role can append any information on the record avoiding things such as duplicate or inconsistent records.

Blockchain as Enabler of Nationwide interoperability

It is with no exaggeration that there is no interoperability in HER systems which has become a huge barrier to nationwide population health management. According to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information, with blockchain technology there is a roadmap for interoperability that defines critical technical components and policies needed for nationwide interoperability which include:

o   Ubiquitous and secure network infrastructure.

o   A way to authenticate and verify identity for all network participants.

o   A way to have a representative to offer authority when accessing health data and other relevant healthcare information.

The current healthcare technologies do not address these requirements as they face challenges related to data privacy, security and full ecosystem interoperability.

Blockchain can store two types of information as a transaction layer. Such information includes:

o   On-chain information that is stored on blockchain directly.

o   Off-chain information with links present on blockchain that act as a pointer to data stored in traditional databases.

Blockchain Adoption and its Benefits to Patients

Blockchain has given patients a big advantage as it offers them constant access to their healthcare or wellness data while promoting healthy lifestyles that help reduce chances of contracting common diseases. Knowing your wellness score is one key to develop ability to manage your own health. Imagine having your own wellness or health records in all your life and having the ability to control who access it. When healthcare data is stored through blockchain, it is so navigable that it can lead to no inconveniences between the time you see the doctor and the time healthcare payments are made.With a potential of interoperable blockchain, patient data integrity can be strengthened while protecting digital identities.

The Bottom Line

It is no doubt that blockchain technology has improved healthcare information at unprecedented scale enabling cost savings in many healthcare procedures. Combination of blockchain with other healthcare technologies has enabled major efficiencies in all healthcare claims process improving overall experience for all medical practitioners. Health or medical researchers will also have access comprehensive information to help advance and understand diseases and promote drug development and biomedical discovery.