Blockchain Technology in Healthcare Industry

International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology ISSN : 2456-3307 (www.ijsrcseit.com) doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/CSEIT206645 Blockchain Technology in Healthcare Industry Reddy Kumaraswamy1, Advin Manhar2 1 2 Research Scholar, Amity University Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India Assistant Professor, Amity University Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India ABSTRACT Article Info Volume 6, Issue 6 Blockchain is one of the most growing technologies that is playing a vital role in the professional world today. Blockchain is the technology that is going to Page Number: 236-240 revolutionize many industries in the future including healthcare. It is simply Publication Issue : defined as a decentralized, distributed ledger that records the provenance of a November-December-2020 digital asset. Blockchain is used as a backbone for many industries such as cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, and many more. Although its capability and application have to be extended far beyond. The objective of blockchain is to allow digital information to be recorded and distributed, but not edited. In the last couple of years many industries finding new ways to implement blockchain technology with a wide range of domains. And this sudden increase in technology also provided many new application opportunities, including financial services, smart contracts, energy trading, supply chain, healthcare, etc. In this paper, we know briefly about blockchain technologies and some of their applications. We also show how blockchain is going to revolutionize the Article History healthcare industry in the future. Accepted : 05 Dec 2020 Keywords : Blockchain, Financial Services, Smart Contracts, Energy Trading, Published : 12 Dec 2020 Supply Chain, Healthcare I. INTRODUCTION (P2P) network digital data transactions that may be publicly or privately distributed to all users. Blockchain is an expanding list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, transaction data, and the hash of this block. Blockchain is a modification resistant to its data. This is because once data is recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without modification of all subsequent blocks. It is identified as a distributed ledger technology for peer-to-peer Figure 1. Structure of a Blockchain Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Technoscience Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited 236 Reddy Kumaraswamy et al Int J Sci Res CSE & IT, November-December-2020; 6 (6) : 236-240 Blockchain technology provides transparency and technology which showed the potential to store, eradicates the need for third-party administrators or manage, and share EHRs safely amongst large intermediaries. It uses consensus mechanisms and healthcare communities. cryptography to confirm the legitimacy of a transaction in a trustless and unreliable environment. A recent report of Market Research Future (MRFR) In a distributed P2P network of transactions, the shows that blockchain technology in the healthcare receiving node checks the message; if the message is industry is expected to generate over 42 million in correct, then it stores it in a block. A consensus value and reach a compound annual growth rate of algorithm is then used to verify the data in each block; this is called “Proof-of-work (PoW)”. The 71.8% by 2023. Another recent (Deloitte, 2018) survey shows that understanding of technology varies block will be added into the chain after performing due to its fact of what purposes are served. Even the consensus algorithm, every node in the network though with little knowledge, 55% of US senior admits this block and incessantly spreads the chain. executives are planning to invest more than $1M in blockchain technology over the next couple of years. Its potential benefits include a reduction in costs and complexity of transactions between parties, enhanced Electronic Health Records (EHRs): security, improved transparency, and regulation. EHRs are the collection of patient's medical records Blockchain technology was first largely applied in the in digital format. Electronic medical records are financial industry that allowed bitcoin to operate. It stored electronically which is maintained by the has applications for many more industries including hospital or clinical over time. These medical records healthcare, insurance, pharmacy, e-voting, legal comprise all the important clinical data which is contracts, tourism, energy, manufacturing, and the crucial to that patient’s care stored with a specific travel industry. care provider, including MRI reports, past medical examination, immunization, laboratory reports, and One of the most leading applications of blockchain any form of allergies of the patient. These records are technology is healthcare. The potential of blockchain in healthcare is to overcome the challenges that are real-time records, patients’ specific records that readily available for a patient or a doctor. They have related to data security, privacy, sharing, and storage. improved the accuracy and clarity of health One of the requirements of the healthcare industry is information by reducing the occurrence of errors in Interoperability. It is the ability of two parties, either records. human or a machine to exchange data or information precisely, efficiently, and consistently. The goal of Nowadays many hospitals and clinics are using interoperability in healthcare is to facilitate the blockchain technology to securely store their patients’ exchange of health-related information, such as medical records. When a medical record of a patient electronic health records (EHR), among healthcare is generated and tested, then it can be added to the providers and patients so that the data can be shared blockchain network. These personalized health throughout the environment and assigned by records could be encrypted and kept on the different hospital systems. Interoperability also blockchain network with a private key, which allows enables provides to share patient's medical records only verified users to access the health records in securely, in any case of the provider’s location and crucial time, thereby ensuring the privacy of the the trust relationship between them. This side of patient. interoperability is resolved by using blockchain Volume 6, Issue 6, November-December-2020 | http://ijsrcseit.com 237 Reddy Kumaraswamy et al Int J Sci Res CSE & IT, November-December-2020; 6 (6) : 236-240 EHR System Design & Architecture: The transaction is the actions performed mainly on the asset in the network like adding a participant in Blockchain network is divided into three main the network, creating medical records, retrieving components: Participants, Assets, and Transactions. specific information from the network, update in the In the implementation of the EHR system using participant’s information, giving access to the blockchain, EHR consists of four main participants: clinician or lab, and revoking access from them. For the execution of some of these transactions, there is • Patients a need to have a relationship between the two • • Doctors Labs participating nodes. For example, the person whose medical records are to be accessed must be a patient • Admin of the clinician/doctor who wants to get access to Patients play a very important role as participants in the EHR system as they own their health records that have been created and added to the blockchain. They have the authority to regulate who all can access their records. Doctors/Clinicians are the care providers who will collect medical data of patients through diagnoses. They are responsible for updating the health-related information in the records of the patients who have verified them as authorized doctors/clinicians and have been permitted to write into their records. generating test results and updating that information in the records of patients who have verified them as authorized labs and have been permitted to write into their records. network, implements various contacts various contracts in the network, generates the key, and encryption-decryption restricting access to all the resources of the system. Only authorized users get to manipulate or read specific records only. EHRs System Implementation: We use a blockchain-based framework Hyperledger Fabric and Composer tool to implement the project. Hyperledger Fabric is a blockchain framework We use this framework as it allows components, such as consensus and membership services, to be plug-and-play. It helps container technology to host smart contracts, called “Chaincode”. Hyperledger Composer is an open-source tool for Admin is the one who deploys the blockchain the rules are also described in the system. This helps in implementation founded by the Linux Foundation. Labs are responsible for conducting tests then handles the medical record of the patient. The permission of the transaction data. In this system, medical records are the asset of the network. Each medical record is owned by some patients who are registered on the network. Whenever a transaction has been executed the value of the asset changes. Volume 6, Issue 6, November-December-2020 | http://ijsrcseit.com building a blockchain network. This tool helps business owners and developers to create multiple smart contracts and blockchain applications for solving various business problems. Following steps to be followed to implement this blockchain-based HER network: 1. Collection of data. 2. Wallet allocation. 3. Deploying a blockchain network Hyperledger Fabric and Composer. 238 using Reddy Kumaraswamy et al Int J Sci Res CSE & IT, November-December-2020; 6 (6) : 236-240 4. Creation of different nodes in the system. capability of the blockchain to store and process 5. Creation of medical records. massive data access transactions on time. As the 6. Creation of transactions. volume of transactions increases, the delay of mining 7. Addition of node to the system. blocks in private or public blockchain will increase 8. Specification of various permissions granted to exponentially. Therefore, there is a need for the user. innovative mechanisms and algorithms to minimize Execution of transactions. mining delays. 9. II. CONCLUSION Blockchain Technology is gaining large attention from individuals, as well as organizations of nearly all kinds and dimensions. This technology is capable of transforming the traditional industry with its features, including decentralization, anonymity, auditability, and persistency. This technology is expected to reshape the healthcare industry. In this technology For blockchain technology to work in such an environment, we need research that investigates blockchain mechanisms that promote a single global access policy for the whole network. Moreover, since the network consists of nodes and computers that are spatially separated, revolutionize the healthcare industry, and the system sharing process of health data. The blockchain slows [1]. [2]. of blockchain’s data sharing. Indeed, the expectation of an individual’s privacy varies from one country to another based on government regulations. Another potential problem that is under-researched is the Volume 6, Issue 6, November-December-2020 | http://ijsrcseit.com Reshape the Consumer Electronics Industry [Future Directions]. IEEE Consum. Electron. Mag. 2017, 6, 19–23. [3]. Yaeger, K.; Martini, M.; Rasouli, J.; Costa, A. Emerging Blockchain Technology Solutions for Modern Healthcare Infrastructure. J. Sci. Innov. Med. 2019, 2. [4]. Gaggioli, A. Blockchain Technology: Living in a Decentralized Everything. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 2018, 21, 65–66. [5]. Macrinici, D.; Cartofeanu, C.; Gao, S. Smart contract further investigation. For example, cross-border sharing of health data where different and often conflicting jurisdictions exist may hinder the benefit Lee, J.H.; Pilkington, M. How the Blockchain RevolutionWill what purpose. There are still some open challenges that require Michael, J.; Cohn, A.; Butcher, J.R. BlockChain 2019). can tamper with them after becoming part of the decide who can and cannot access their data and for for Technology. 2018. (accessed on 20 March for health records to be time-stamped so that no one distributor ledger. The patient will have the right to need III. REFERENCES design of EHRs. Specifically, we presented current research on healthcare data management and how blockchain will empower patients and streamline the a block additions. In this paper, we have discussed how blockchain works, the implementation of blockchain, how it will is synchronization mechanisms to identify the order of not only, the process will be transparent and secure, but also the quality of healthcare will be increased at lower costs. there applications within blockchain technology: A systematic mapping study. Telemat. Inform. 2018, 35, 2337–2354. [6]. Pilkington, M. 11 Blockchain technology: Principles and applications. In Research Handbook on Digital Transformations; Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, UK, 2016; p. 225. 239 Reddy Kumaraswamy et al Int J Sci Res CSE & IT, November-December-2020; 6 (6) : 236-240 [7]. Engelhardt, M.A. Hitching healthcare to the Advanced Science and Technology. 29. 12315- chain: 12331. An introduction to blockchain technology in the healthcare sector. Technol. [15]. Casino, F.; Dasaklis, T.K.; Patsakis, C. A Innov. Manag. Rev. 2017, 7, 22–34. [8]. [9]. Rawal, V.; Mascarenhas, P.; systematic literature review of blockchainShah, M.; based applications : Current status, Kondaka, S.S. White Paper: Blockchain for classification and open issues. Telemat. Inform. Healthcare an Opportunity to Address Many 2019, 36, 55–81. Complex Challenges in Healthcare; CitiusTech: [16]. Joshi, A.P.; Han, M.; Wang, Y. A survey on Princeton, NJ, USA, 2017. Iroju, O.; Soriyan, A.; Gambo, I.; Olaleke, J. security and privacy issues of blockchain technology. Math. Found. Comput. 2018, 1, Interoperability 121–147. in healthcare: Benefits, challenges and resolutions. Int. J. Innov. Appl. Stud. 2013, 3, 262–270. [10]. Gordon,W.J.; Catalini, C. Blockchain Technology for Healthcare: Facilitating the Transition to Patient-Driven Interoperability. Comput. Struct. Biotechnol. J. 2018, 16, 224– 230. [11]. Cardoso, L.; Marins, F.; Portela, F.; Santos, M.; Abelha, A.; Machado, J. The next generation of interoperability agents in healthcare. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 5349– 5371. Cite this article as : Reddy Kumaraswamy, Advin Manhar , "Blockchain Technology in Healthcare Industry", International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology (IJSRCSEIT), ISSN : 2456-3307, Volume 6 Issue 6, pp. 236-240, November-December 2020. Available at doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/CSEIT206645 Journal URL : http://ijsrcseit.com/CSEIT206645 [12]. Zhang, P.; Schmidt, D.C.; White, J.; Lenz, G. Blockchain technology use cases in healthcare. In Advances in Computers; Elsevier: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2018; Volume 111, pp. 1–41. [13]. Dagher, G.G.; Mohler, J.; Milojkovic, M.; Marella, P.B. Ancile: Privacy-preserving framework for access control and interoperability of electronic health records using blockchain technology. Sustain. Cities Soc. 2018, 39, 283–297. [14]. Kumar, Dr & Simaiya, Sarita & Maheshwari, Shikha & Manhar, Advin & Kumar, Santosh & Chitkara,. (2020). Cloud Performance Evaluation: Hybrid Load Balancing Model Based on Modified Particle Swarm Optimization and Improved Metaheuristic Firefly Algorithms. International Journal of Volume 6, Issue 6, November-December-2020 | http://ijsrcseit.com 240