Amalgamation of Blockchain Technology and Internet of Things for Healthcare Applications

The integration of blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) helps to strengthen and leverage mutual advantages in a variety of industrial domains including healthcare. Several devices are connected in an IoT network for fast-paced 5G-enabled data transfer environment for different industrial applications for collecting information and processing it, and the chances of failure of this centralized system are much higher. The deployment of blockchain in IoT allows distributed, decentralized ledger records with high security, privacy, improved efficiency, and authenticity of data. Globally the healthcare industry is one of the largest and rapidly growing but under strict regulatory norms. It involves complex interconnected entities leading to fragmented patient data, enhanced costs, and system inefficiencies leading to lack of complete transparency in data transactions, data traceability issues, and security concerns for the patient. To overcome this problem, blockchain technology has gained considerable attention to ensure secure and reliable management of real-time clinical patient data, thereby reducing costs, and disclosure of clinical trials and overcome supply of sub-standard medicines and drugs to the patients. It is being employed to support patient data management, hospital supply chain management, pharmaceutical research, online patient monitoring through hospital telemedicine set-up, and hospital billing system. Real-time monitoring of the patient’s condition by the clinicians and sharing of their medical records by the patients to avail second referral on their medical condition are possible due to high-speed 5G network and enhanced services provided employing blockchain and the IoT. This would enable them to learn regarding similar cases reported worldwide which would help in improving their present medical condition and overall health services. The major concerns for acceptance of this technology are data misuse during sharing with third parties or indirect user identification through pseudonymous identifiers.