IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/aphecp/v16y2018i5d10.1007_s40258-018-0412-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Opportunities for Use of Blockchain Technology in Medicine

Author

Listed:
  • Igor Radanović

    (University of Zagreb)

  • Robert Likić

    (University of Zagreb
    University Hospital Centre Zagreb)

Abstract

Blockchain technology is a decentralized database that stores a registry of assets and transactions across a peer-to-peer computer network, which is secured through cryptography, and over time, its history gets locked in blocks of data that are cryptographically linked together and secured. So far, there have been use cases of this technology for cryptocurrencies, digital contracts, financial and public records, and property ownership. It is expected that future uses will expand into medicine, science, education, intellectual property, and supply chain management. Likely applications in the field of medicine could include electronic health records, health insurance, biomedical research, drug supply and procurement processes, and medical education. Utilization of blockchain is not without its weaknesses and currently, this technology is extremely immature and lacks public or even expert knowledge, making it hard to have a clear strategic vision of its true future potential. Presently, there are issues with scalability, security of smart contracts, and user adoption. Nevertheless, with capital investments into blockchain technology projected to reach US$400 million in 2019, health professionals and decision makers should be aware of the transformative potential that blockchain technology offers for healthcare organizations and medical practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Igor Radanović & Robert Likić, 2018. "Opportunities for Use of Blockchain Technology in Medicine," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 583-590, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:aphecp:v:16:y:2018:i:5:d:10.1007_s40258-018-0412-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s40258-018-0412-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40258-018-0412-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40258-018-0412-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robert Karaszewski & Paweł Modrzyński & Gözde Türkmen Müldür & Jacek Wójcik, 2021. "Blockchain Technology in Life Cycle Assessment—New Research Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Marianna Lezzi & Vito Del Vecchio & Mariangela Lazoi, 2024. "Using Blockchain Technology for Sustainability and Secure Data Management in the Energy Industry: Implications and Future Research Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Sreejith Balasubramanian & Jaspreet Singh Sethi & Shalini Ajayan & Cody Morris Paris, 2022. "An enabling Framework for Blockchain in Tourism," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 165-179, June.
    4. Min Xu & Xingtong Chen & Gang Kou, 2019. "A systematic review of blockchain," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Amit Sundas & Sumit Badotra & Salil Bharany & Ahmad Almogren & Elsayed M. Tag-ElDin & Ateeq Ur Rehman, 2022. "HealthGuard: An Intelligent Healthcare System Security Framework Based on Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, September.
    6. Jörg Weking & Michael Mandalenakis & Andreas Hein & Sebastian Hermes & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2020. "The impact of blockchain technology on business models – a taxonomy and archetypal patterns," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(2), pages 285-305, June.
    7. Alnafrah, Ibrahim & Mouselli, Suliman, 2021. "Revitalizing blockchain technology potentials for smooth academic records management and verification in low-income countries," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Yevheniia Polishchuk & Alla Ivashchenko & Oleksandr Dyba, 2019. "SMART-Contracts via Blockchain as the Innovation Tool for SMEs Development," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 39-53.
    9. Kordestani, Arash & Oghazi, Pejvak & Mostaghel, Rana, 2023. "Smart contract diffusion in the pharmaceutical blockchain: the battle of counterfeit drugs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    10. Areej Althabatah & Mohammed Yaqot & Brenno Menezes & Laoucine Kerbache, 2023. "Transformative Procurement Trends: Integrating Industry 4.0 Technologies for Enhanced Procurement Processes," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-40, September.
    11. Balasubramanian, Sreejith & Shukla, Vinaya & Sethi, Jaspreet Singh & Islam, Nazrul & Saloum, Roy, 2021. "A readiness assessment framework for Blockchain adoption: A healthcare case study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    12. Giorgio Piccardo & Lorenzo Conti & Alessio Martino, 2024. "Blockchain Technology and Its Potential to Benefit Public Services Provision: A Short Survey," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-22, August.
    13. Walsh, Clara & O’Reilly, Philip & Gleasure, Rob & McAvoy, John & O’Leary, Kevin, 2021. "Understanding manager resistance to blockchain systems," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 353-365.
    14. Dutta, Pankaj & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Somani, Surabhi & Butala, Richa, 2020. "Blockchain technology in supply chain operations: Applications, challenges and research opportunities," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:aphecp:v:16:y:2018:i:5:d:10.1007_s40258-018-0412-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.