When many people hear the phrase “blockchain technology”, they immediately think of cryptocurrencies. However, blockchain is much more than cryptocurrencies. At its core, blockchain technology is a chain of records that store data and information. It is a tamper-proof and decentralized digital ledger, which provides full control to the user and eliminates governmental or third-party dominance. 

The global expenditure on blockchain solutions is anticipated to reach US$11.7 billion this year, and the number of individuals working in the blockchain sector has increased 76% as of June 2022. By 2024, it is anticipated that the worldwide blockchain technology market would generate US$20 billion in revenue. When blockchain technology is implemented correctly, it can solve problems in several sectors—with applications in the automotive, financial services, voting, and healthcare industries.

The Promise of Blockchain for Healthcare

Healthcare professionals and institutions are already capitalizing on blockchain technology by using early solutions to reduce costs, increasing the availability of authentic information, streamlining medical records, and providing secure and fast access to data. 

There are numerous applications of using blockchain in healthcare:

• Storage and Data Accessibility – Medical professionals can collaborate effectively, improving the opportunities and experiences for patients by using blockchain technology to access, store, and share data securely.
• Analysis and Data Collection – Using a data-driven, scalable, and patient-centric blockchain-based system will prove helpful in collecting sensitive data to train machine learning software. 
• Health Supply Chain Management – The blockchain provides practical solutions to streamline supply chain operations through less expensive, reliable, authentic, and easier methods.
• Drug Tracking – Blockchain technology provides a reliable way to ensure drug validity by providing the ability to trace every medicine back to its source.
• Remote Monitoring – Once uploaded to the blockchain, electronic medical records can be viewed and shared instantly and securely throughout the world. 

Protecting Sensitive Data

Hospital cyber security breaches hit an all-time high in 2021, with 45 million individuals affected by healthcare cyber attacks. The implications of these attacks can have a variety of consequences, ranging from the shutdown of hospital operations, diversion of non-emergency patients, a loss of confidentiality, exposure of patient data and information, and infrastructure damage.

Kali Durgampudi, the chief technology officer of healthcare payments company Zelis, believes that blockchain implementation is vital for protecting patients’ sensitive data from cyber criminals. He says that  because hackers cannot modify or copy the data, “blockchain technology vastly reduces security risks, giving hospital and healthcare IT organizations a much stronger line of defense against cyber criminals.”

Blockchain technology has the potential to alleviate many of these concerns. Any time the information is changed or shared, a new block is created to document the transaction. Strung together, these blocks create an impenetrable chain. Since the information cannot be modified or copied, blockchain technology vastly reduces security risks.

Challenges for Blockchain in Healthcare

Like most advances, there are limits to the promise of blockchain technology. Currently, blockchain’s scalability is low, with transaction speeds not up to the standard of being reliable for massive amounts of immediate transactions. Blockchain ecosystems can also require high energy consumption, making it expensive to manage over large amounts of data and networks. Finally, it is important to note that healthcare often lags behind other industries in adopting new and cutting-edge technologies. Regulations and infrastructure issues tend to prevent fast-paced growth in medical devices, newer drug development platforms, and adopting scalable technologies.

Blockchain Solutions for the Future

Get practical guidance for how to design a blockchain solution with the IEEE five-course program, A Step-by-Step Approach to Designing Blockchain Solutions. Developed by experts, this course program recaps the basics of the technology, the expected benefits of a blockchain solution, how a solution would benefit a prospect company, and more.

Contact an IEEE Account Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Durgampudi, Kali. (18 July 2022). The Potential of Blockchain Technology To Address Healthcare’s Biggest Challenges. Forbes.

Encila, Jet. (15 August 2022). Blockchain Industry Workforce Grows 80% This Year, Study Shows. Bitcoinist.

Garg, Amit & Shuang, Sharon. (16 August 2022). Blockchain & Healthcare- Where Are We? DateDrivenInvestor.

Hoffmann, Sofia. (9 August 2022). What Benefits Blockchain can Bring to Healthcare. HealthTECH Zone.

Linken, Scott. (12 August 2022). Making sense of bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain. PWC.

Quarmby, Brian. (22 July 2022). Blockchain’s use in healthcare ‘essential’ to protect sensitive data: Zelis CTO. Cointelegraph. 

Siwicki, Bill. (20 July 2022). Debunking some of healthcare’s biggest blockchain myths. HealthcareITNews. 

Blockchain technology is growing at a significant pace. According to Statista, the global blockchain market, valued at US$1.57 billion in 2018, is expected to grow more than a hundred times to US$163 billion by 2027. 

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents hacking and altering of data by duplicating transactions and dispersing them to “nodes” across the network. With organizations increasingly adopting this revolutionary technology, it is transforming the way they do business.  

What Industries Will Benefit From Blockchain?

According to 15 of Forbes Technology Council members, industries that will benefit the most from blockchain include: 

Law enforcement and security: Currently, it can be difficult for police to know if video evidence is legitimate or altered. With blockchain technology, video evidence is signed and time-stamped in a way that is non-repudiable, so it cannot be altered using deepfake software, which is easily available online. 

Supply chains: The global supply chain is notorious for being difficult to navigate and monitor. This problem often leads to goods being lost or expiring if left out of cold storage. With blockchain technology, these goods can be more easily tracked and monitored using sensors. 

Identity management: By providing a global ID in which organizations will need to obtain consent to use data, blockchain will give ordinary people greater control over their online identity and personal information. 

Software security: By providing “dependency controls that are automatic, tamper-proof, and decentralized,” blockchain will make software far more secure. Offering “in-depth dependency graphs” allows those purchasing the software to know exactly what it contains. 

Media: Blockchain could potentially remodel the rights and ownership of media assets— though current industry standards pose some obstacles to this topic. 

Messaging apps: Blockchain could improve messaging app security by providing a crypto wallet address. This process would allow you to sign into the app without having to use your personal financial information.  

Real Estate: Blockchain could potentially simplify the real estate industry by removing the need for middlemen such as lenders, property managers, and brokers. 

How to Expand Your Blockchain Skills

With distributed ledger technology becoming increasingly popular, many technical professionals are looking to expand their skills to include blockchain. The Q1 2022 Workplace Learning Index, performed by the online learning portal Udemy, found that courses on decentralized blockchain applications were the top lessons among global learners in technology and power skills in 2022, IT Pro reported. Other key findings from the report include: 

• Technical skills in decentralized apps (dApps) and platforms like Binance experienced more than 450% growth in usage compared to the last quarter of 2021. Internationally, interest in learning skills in Openstack Cloud increased by 444%, while FastAPI skills grew by 304%. 
• Lessons for Amazon Web Services Certified DevOps Engineer and Laravel were the two most popular skills in the United Kingdom, with 202% and 168% growth respectively, followed by Cucumber Software (118%), GitHub (108%), Apache Maven (107%). 

Bill O’Shea, Udemy EMEA vice president, told ITPro that there has been a “rapid rise in blockchain upskilling” in Britain, revealing that blockchain “continues to be one of the fastest-growing areas within the employment market.” 

“Learners are being savvy in preparing themselves for further developments and understanding of this area as it continues to dominate,” he said. 

Given the number of industries that blockchain will impact, organizations will likely start recruiting more technical professionals with knowledge of this increasingly popular technology. Is your organization’s workforce prepared for the blockchain revolution? 

Get Practical Guidance on Blockchain Solutions

Developed by experts, A Step-by-Step Approach to Designing Blockchain Solutions recaps the basics of the technology; the expected benefits of a blockchain solution; how a solution would benefit a prospect company; and more.  

Contact an IEEE Account Specialist for more information on this five-course training program or discover it on the IEEE Learning Network (ILN). 

Resources

Forbes Technology Council. (10 June 2022). 15 Industries That Could Significantly Benefit From Blockchain Technology. Forbes. 

Millman, Rene. (26 May 2022). Uptake for blockchain skills courses surges 450% in 2022. ITPro. 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) recently announced the launch of innovative platforms that are expected to speed the development of machine learning models. The first, the HPE Machine Learning Development System, combines machine learning software with compute, accelerators, and networking, which shortens the time it takes to get results from building and training machine learning models from months to just days.

“Enterprises seek to incorporate AI and machine learning to differentiate their products and services, but are often confronted with complexity in setting up the infrastructure required to build and train accurate AI models at scale,” stated Justin Hotard, executive vice president and general manager, HPC and AI, at HPE, in a press release. “The HPE Machine Learning Development System combines our proven end-to-end HPC solutions for deep learning with our innovative machine learning software platform into one system, to provide a performant out-of-the box solution to accelerate time to value and outcomes with AI.”

The second platform, HPE Swarm, combines blockchain technology with the revolutionary learning methods “federated learning” and “swarm learning.” 

What Are Federated Learning and Swarm Learning?

Unlike traditional artificial intelligence (AI) models trained on centralized datasets, federated learning trains models on decentralized datasets. For example, let’s say a model is learning from data on a phone. The model runs on the phone’s data but does not send the actual data to a central server — only insights gleaned from it. This method is much more secure for the owner of the phone. It also makes the system faster and more efficient, because it does not have to send large amounts of data back and forth to a central server. 

However, HP Swarm takes federated learning to a new level by using swarm learning, a subset of federate learning. Instead of relying on a central server, swarm learning uses blockchain, a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data by duplicating transactions and dispersing them to “nodes” across the network. As such, swarm learning makes the learning process even more decentralized, secure, and resilient. 

This technology could accelerate machine learning while advancing a large number of applications, particularly within healthcare. As Ledger Insights reported, it could allow cancer research centers across the world to collect valuable data with one another without having to share the actual data. 

“Swarm learning is an important movement in the AI market, with broad support across the public and private sectors, to combine the power of expanding data sets with the innovation and insights from organizations across the globe,” Hotard told VentureBeat.

HP Swarm provides users with containers that are easily integrated with AI models via the HPE swarm API. Users can then instantly share AI model learnings with peers both inside and outside their organization in order to enhance training, without having to share the original data – making it far more secure. 

Swarm learning holds great potential for businesses, since it can enable them to make faster decisions with better results, protect the privacy of their customers, share learnings with other organizations, and advance their data governance.  

Is Your Company Embracing Machine Learning?

It’s important for organizations developing and deploying machine learning to understand the concepts and techniques necessary for driving machine learning-enabled business insights.

Connect with an IEEE Content Specialist today to learn more about this program and how to get access to it for your organization.

Interested in the program for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network.

Resources

(29 April 2022). HPE’s new platform lets customers build machine learning models quickly and at scale. TechCentral.ie. 

(29 April 2022). HPE launches Swarm Learning using blockchain for AI, machine learning. Ledger Insights.

Plumb, Taryn. (27 April 2022). HPE looks to deliver the power of ‘swarm learning’. VentureBeat.

Press Release. (27 April 2022). Hewlett Packard Enterprise accelerates AI journey from POC to production with new solution for AI development and training at scale. hpe.com 

Press Release. (27 April 2022). Hewlett Packard Enterprise ushers in next era in AI innovation with Swarm Learning solution built for the edge and distributed sites. hpe.com 

Blockchain technology will not only revolutionize medical records, it will also create a patient-centric healthcare industry dramatically different from what exists today. As discussed in previous posts, blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents hacking and altering of data by duplicating transactions and dispersing them to “nodes” across the network. 

“Blockchain possess the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry by placing the patient at the center of the ecosystem, amplifying interoperability, privacy, and security of health data,” write Vic Gupta and Harish Nanda, the Executive Vice President of Digital & AI and Chief Architect of Coforge, in ET Healthworld.com. “The technology is set to equip [the] healthcare industry with a more advanced Health Information Exchange (HIE) model that could genuinely transform electronic medical records, making them significantly more secure, efficient, and disintermediated.” 

However, the healthcare industry has been slow to adopt blockchain due to the sensitivity of the data handled. 

Healthcare Blockchain Relies on Hybrid Technology Stacks

Because the healthcare industry needs to protect highly sensitive patient data, its blockchain technology must rely on a hybrid technology stack, rather than a system in which data is delivered across blockchain nodes, according to Stuart Hanson, CEO of Avaneer Health.

“Instead, this technology can be used to help index the complex industry sources of data across a network and make this data more fluid and, therefore, valuable,” he told Healthcare IT News. “In other words, we need to figure out a delicate balance between blockchain and other technology components within the stack in order to preserve the key value added from blockchain while making the entire system robust and optimized for the healthcare use cases.”

How Multiple-Signature Contracts Will Provide Solutions to the Healthcare Blockchain

According to Xudong Huang, a researcher at Harvard Medical School who was interviewed by Managed Healthcare Executive, healthcare blockchain is valuable to patients because it simultaneously provides them with data security and data ownership, compared to traditional data management and security systems, which he discussed in a 2019 paper. 

Blockchain-based systems would require patients to authorize retrieval of their data through what Huang and coauthors call multiple-signature, or “multisig,” contracts in healthcare blockchains. Using these signatures, both the patient and healthcare provider use separate private keys to access the patient’s medical record in the network. While this means the provider can’t access the patient’s data without permission, it also means that only providers—not patients—can change the patient’s data.

While silioing data in such a way can create obstacles for big data analytics, which researchers and healthcare companies often rely on to create solutions in the healthcare industry, Huang thinks it may actually help. 

“An easy solution for this is any de-identified patients’ data can be released to a public database for easy access,” he told the publication. In other words, blockchain would allow wider, simplified access of data among vetted parties on the blockchain.

As the blockchain brings major solutions to healthcare, the industry will need to learn to adjust to a new, patient-centric network. Other industries will find themselves in a similar position. Has your organization prepared to adopt blockchain technology? 

Designing Blockchain Solutions

Get practical guidance for how to design a blockchain solution with the IEEE five-course program, A Step-by-Step Approach to Designing Blockchain Solutions. Developed by experts, this course program recaps the basics of the technology; the expected benefits of a blockchain solution; how a solution would benefit a prospect company; and more.

Contact an IEEE Account Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Gupta, Vic and Nanda, Harish. (24 March 2022). Blockchain Disrupting the Healthcare Ecosystem. ET HealthWorld.com.

Siwicki, Bill. (3 March 2022). Healthcare blockchain leader talks challenges and trends in DLT. Healthcare IT News.

Kaltwasser, Jared. (8 February 2022). Is Healthcare Ready For Blockchain? Managed Healthcare Executive.

From healthcare to supply chains, the decentralized nature of blockchain has the potential to fundamentally restructure the way organizations do business. Once fully implemented, it will also make the internet far more secure against cyber attacks – and give users greater control over their personal data.

How Does Blockchain Make the Internet More Secure?

Centralized networks are often vulnerable to cyber attacks because they tend to have few IP addresses, which hackers can easily penetrate using relatively simple schemes such as phishing. Once in, cyber criminals can do extensive damage, as recently demonstrated by waves of ransomware attacks costing companies an average of $4.24 million USD. However, the decentralized nature of blockchain presents a possible solution, as these complicated networks are far more difficult for hackers to access.

“For those blockchain solutions utilizing proof of work validation methods (such as bitcoin), hackers have to gain control of a majority of nodes to compromise ledger transactions — something that is, by design, computationally expensive,” Robert Napoli, a business strategist who writes about cybersecurity and digital transformation, wrote in Forbes. “This computational cost can be extended to other types of operations in a security scheme, reducing the need for a trusted central authority.”

Transitioning internet domain name servers (IDNs), which link web browsers to websites, to the blockchain, for instance, would disperse resources “to multiple nodes, making it infeasible for hackers to control the database,” Napoli adds. He noted that blockchain can be secured even further with the help of artificial intelligence technology.

Blockchain, Decentralized Identity, and Digital Identity Wallets

Aside from making networks more secure, blockchain technology can also give users a decentralized online identity that shields their personal data against breaches. According to Deepak Gupta, a cyber security innovator, tech strategist, and cofounder of LoginRadius, writing in VentureBeat, a decentralized identity “is based on a trust framework for identity management. It allows users to generate and control their own digital identity without depending on a specific service provider.”

With a decentralized identity (DID), users have digital “identity wallets” that store proof of their identity in a single location, which they can use to grant or deny access to third parties on the network. Not only do identity wallets give users an easier, more secure way to share their information, they also give users greater power over their own data.

According to Gupta, authentication through decentralized identity and blockchain include the following steps:

1. 1. The identity wallet contains the user’s verified identity details, including their name, age, address, education, employment details, and financial data. This creates a foundation of trust and confirms the user is eligible for authentication.
   2. The decentralized identity feature uses the public key associated with the private key and publishes it onto a distributed ledger like blockchain.
   3. As the decentralized system delivers the public key to the blockchain, the identity wallet receives a unique decentralized identifier representing the user across the internet.
   4. The user shares this identifier with the service provider to get authentication.
   5. The service provider seeks the shared identifier in the blockchain. If and when this is found, the blockchain then sends matching data to the application. The user then completes authentication by adding a signature using a private key.

The service provider application verifies authentication, allowing the user to take action.

The decentralized nature of blockchain has the potential to revolutionize cyber security, but will also come with radical changes. Is your organization prepared to take on this complex technology?

Designing Blockchain Solutions

Get practical guidance for how to design a blockchain solution with the IEEE five-course program, A Step-by-Step Approach to Designing Blockchain Solutions. Developed by experts, this course program recaps the basics of the technology; the expected benefits of a blockchain solution; how a solution would benefit a prospect company; and more.

Contact an IEEE Account Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Gupta, Deepak. (5 March 2022). Decentralized identity using blockchain. VentureBeat.  

Napoli, Robert. (4 March 2022). How Blockchain Could Revolutionize Cybersecurity. Forbes. 

From regulatory compliance to invoicing dilemmas, businesses are dealing with some major headaches – and turning to blockchain for a cure.  Among these businesses are automakers harnessing blockchain technology.

In May 2021, French automaker Renault announced it had created a new blockchain solution to ensure European auto industry components are in compliance with new regulations that impact the entire automotive supply chain from start to finish. Known as Compliance End-to-End Distributed (XCEED), the solution tracks the compliance of thousands of vehicle components as they are assembled in real time, Just Auto reported. XCEED was developed by a consortium encompassing automotive suppliers Faurecia, Knauf Industries, Simoldes, and Coskunöz, in association with IBM.

These are not the only European automakers harnessing blockchain. Mercedes-Benz plans to develop a blockchain solution that will help trace harmful emissions. Volvo is using blockchain to track cobalt in its battery supply chain for use in electric vehicles. Additionally, BMW will work with Amazon (AWS) on solutions to boost operational performance and supply chain transparency. The company’s PartChain Platform uses certain AWS services as well as open-source blockchain management tools to better track parts and raw materials across the supply chain.

Blockchain Helps Walmart Canada Shrink Invoice Discrepancies from 70% to 1%

Retail giant Walmart Canada is now using blockchain technology to create an automated system that manages invoices from and payments to its 70 third-party freight carriers in order to prevent payment disputes.

Formerly, the retailer depended on numerous information systems between itself and its carriers. Not only did this hinder communication, it also meant that the company needed to manually handle dispute resolutions– a problem that wasted time and labor. 

The company’s blockchain solution, DL Freight, regularly collects data along every point of the network. From the carrier’s tender offer to the proof of delivery and payment approval, all of the data is automatically processed in real-time and is easily accessible to all  involved parties. With this new blockchain solution in place, no more than 1% of the company’s invoices contain discrepancies now, compared to 70% previously. 

DL Freight’s success is largely due to how Walmart Canada implemented the technology. According to Harvard Business Review, some essential lessons from the company’s blockchain adoption are:

1. It obtained views from all major stakeholders:
   Getting perspective from all parties involved ensured the solution worked for everyone.
2. It considered all pros and cons of adopting private vs public blockchain:
   Whereas public blockchain networks can provide a more streamlined solution without the need for restrictions and intermediaries, a private network can be better for businesses since it provides more privacy and access restrictions, making the network more secure. 
3. It ensured all parties involved were in agreement over rules:
   Since every company has its own unique “fixed and variable processes and costs,” it was vital that all parties agree prior to implementation.
4. It embedded automated “checks and balances” into the blockchain:
   This prevented mistakes and helped the company spot areas where it could make improvements.

As supply chains and regulations become more stringent and complex, more organizations will turn to blockchain as a solution. Is your organization ready to adopt this revolutionary technology? 

Designing Blockchain Solutions

Get practical guidance for how to design a blockchain solution with the IEEE five-course program, A Step-by-Step Approach to Designing Blockchain Solutions. Developed by experts, this course program recaps the basics of the technology; the expected benefits of a blockchain solution; how a solution would benefit a prospect company; and more.

Contact an IEEE Account Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Reference

Vitasek, Kate, Bayliss, John, Owen, Loudon, and Srivastava, Neeraj. (5 January 2022). How Walmart Canada Uses Blockchain to Solve Supply-Chain Challenges. Harvard Business Review.

Duke, Sam. (6 May 2021). OEMs look to blockchain solutions for compliance and parts performance. Just Auto.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a dramatic shift to digital transformation as millions of employees began to work from home. Now, with pandemic disruptions suppressing global supply chains; manufacturers, ship operators and importers are switching from paper to digital transactions using blockchain technology, reports Enda Curran in Bloomberg.

As discussed in a previous post, blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents hacking and altering of the data. Among its many benefits, blockchain provides secure data sharing that is necessary for trade. One organization already using blockchain technology to make trade easier is Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), a Hong Kong-based nonprofit technology consortium that simplifies trade using blockchain. Its product Cargo Release has reduced the process of physical document exchange at Shanghai port from as many as three days to just two hours.

“There’s no more people going to a shipping line counter to present documents,” GSBN Chief Executive Bertrand Chen told Bloomberg. 

How Blockchain Creates Transparency in the Food Supply Chain

Blockchain is doing more than helping companies cut back on paperwork. It’s also creating better transparency, safety, and traceability, according to Maclean’s. Particularly within the food supply chain, blockchain’s digital ledger provides consumer insight into the products they purchase from farm to table. Before they find their way into kitchen pantries, food products make their way through a long chain of stakeholders: farmers to truckers to manufacturers to importers and exporters to government agencies to grocery stores. If anything goes wrong, such as a food recall, locating the offending product can be near impossible. As a result, producers and suppliers in these situations are often forced to throw away the entire product inventory, constituting an enormous waste. 

However, Erik Valiquette, president of the Canadian Blockchain Supply Chain Association, told Maclean’s that replacing the current process with a blockchain-enabled system that can store “timestamped activity and verify transactions throughout the food supply chain,” in conjunction with “artificial intelligence, robotics, scanners and the internet of things” will create a more “efficient and transparent” infrastructure.

How Blockchain Prevents Fraud in the Supply Chain

Blockchain can also reduce and prevent fraud. As various stakeholders input data along the supply chain, any inaccurate or fraudulent data is tracked and stored, which can be used to hold accountable anyone who inputs bad information. This accountability makes altering or melding with product data much more difficult. 

“All players will be forced to take a step back, look at their processes and make sure that the data-entry mechanisms are accurate,” says Valiquette. “Will that keep an actor from putting in bad information? Probably not. But by automating certain processes, talking with industry partners, and building a system together, the chances of bad information are greatly reduced.”

The global supply chain’s adoption of blockchain is just taking off. As companies continue to struggle, the need to integrate this emerging technology into the supply chain will only become greater. 

Preparing Your Industry for Blockchain Technology

In addition to the supply chain, many fields can benefit from distributed ledger technology. Check out Enterprise Blockchain for Healthcare, IoT, Energy, and Supply Chain to learn about highly anticipated use cases.

Developed by leading experts in blockchain technology, this five-course program is ideal for managers, professional engineers, and business leaders.

Contact an IEEE Content Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Curran, Enda. (15 November 2021). Blockchain to Ease Logjams as Supply Chains Ditch Paper for Digital. Bloomberg.

Sing, Nathan. (11 November 2021). How blockchain could revolutionize food supply chains—and lower your grocery bill. MacLean’s. 

From patient-centric hospital networks to higher quality medicine, blockchain technology is revolutionizing healthcare in a number of ways. As discussed in previous posts, blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents hacking and altering of data by duplicating transactions and dispersing them to “nodes” across the network. 

According to Jose Morey, Chief Executive Officer of Ad Astra Media and Chief Health Officer of Ever Medical Technologies, the secure and transparent nature of blockchain means that it has a number of potential applications in the medical industry.  Writing in Forbes, he notes a number of ways that blockchain is already transforming healthcare.

Blockchain Applications That Could Revolutionize Healthcare

Blockchain will allow the medical industry to share and access patient data securely:  The technology will “facilitate finely customizable openness while upholding only the best security standards for true interoperability,” Morey writes. This will allow health information systems to “work together within and across organizational boundaries” to enhance healthcare delivery. Chronicled is one company that is already using blockchain to secure patient data.

Blockchain will improve contract negotiations: In the healthcare industry, contract negotiations often get quite complex, which can take up a lot of time as a result. Blockchain, however, is already providing a solution. A company called Curisium uses the technology “to create a platform for rebate negotiation and contract management,” Morey writes. He adds that the platform streamlines traditional processes by allowing “providers and payers to take part in innovative contracting arrangements.”

Blockchain can foster innovation and connect large hospital networks: For example, a company called Ever integrated a “blockchain, data-driven, patient-centric network” within Thailand’s medical system. The technology connected more than 170 hospitals and 5 million patients. “It enables best-in-class security for all connected data and parties while maintaining close and easy communication with trusted parties— all on a flexible, future-proof, scalable blockchain foundation,” Morey says. 

Blockchain allows organizations to create both secure and transparent networks: With blockchain technology, hospitals can quickly and easily share patient data in a way that is fully secure. “Protected by state-of-the-art security solutions, attackers would require vast computational capabilities to even attempt targeting a blockchain-powered network, severely limiting the frequency, possibility and effectiveness of attacks,” states Morey. One company utilizing blockchain in this way is Patientory, which develops “patient-centric applications” that provide up-to-date patient histories and data, pandemic tracking and reporting, and secure communication with verified healthcare personnel.

Furthermore, blockchain has the potential to greatly improve the quality of medicine. According to Pharmacy Times, OCEASOFT, a company that makes atmospheric monitors for supply chains, and Chronicled, an Internet of Things- and blockchain-focused supply chain technology business, are working together to implement blockchain for atmospheric monitoring in the drug supply chain. These monitors glean information such as CO2, temperature, and humidity, which is stored in a decentralized ledger. Buyers and sellers can use this secure ledger to monitor the quality of drugs across global supply chains. Such a system would also help prevent fraud and the purchase of expired drugs.  

These blockchain transformations are only the beginning. It’s only a matter of time before more industries are harnessing this revolutionary technology. 

Preparing Your Industry for Blockchain Technology

In addition to the healthcare industry, many fields can benefit from distributed ledger technology. Check out Enterprise Blockchain for Healthcare, IoT, Energy, and Supply Chain to learn about highly anticipated use cases.

Developed by leading experts in blockchain technology, this five-course program is ideal for managers, professional engineers, and business leaders.

Contact an IEEE Content Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Kenney, Skylar. (28 October 2021). The Case for Leveraging Blockchain to Improve the Global Health Supply Chain. Pharmacy Times. 

Morey, Jose. (25 October 2021). The Future Of Blockchain In Healthcare. Forbes.

Contracts have long created headaches for the business community. Traditionally authorized by third parties such as banks and courts, business contracts can be expensive and time consuming, in addition to often ending in disputes — or even lawsuits. However, blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) could allow for “smart contracts” that eliminate the need for third parties in order to make contracts far easier and less expensive.

How Do Smart Contracts Work?

Unlike traditional contracts, smart contracts exist as unalterable digital code on the blockchain, a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents hacking and altering of data by duplicating transactions and dispersing them to “nodes” across the network. Furthermore, the physical goods associated with these contracts, such as shipping containers, can be automatically traced with IoT devices and sensors, making them easy to trace and document. 

After conditions are met between the various parties involved, the smart contract automatically executes, and begins next steps in the process.  Because everything in the contract exists as code, it eliminates potential for human error and added fees. And since the terms are all predetermined and automatically enforceable, they cannot be manipulated or misinterpreted. 

What Are The Benefits of Smart Contracts?

As we discussed in a previous post, this seamless integration of contracts could revolutionize the way businesses operate. There are many ways smart contracts will improve businesses in the future. According to the legal site JDSUPRA, these include: 

1. Automation: Smart contracts will allow businesses to automate the contract process, and trigger next steps without any human interference. “They can also send notifications and automate processes such as dispute resolution, document reconciliation, and discrepancy identification.”
2. Risk management: Smart contracts eliminate the possibility for mistakes often made in the process of drawing up big contracts in which many conditions have to be met, and save time in the process. Instead, both parties agree on the release of payments once certain milestones are met. “This way, the service provider has incentive to make sure they maintain the agreed upon schedule and the paying party can have assurance they will not have to pay for work that has not been completed.”
3. Time and money: Smart contracts allow for seamless money exchange, so that costly and time-consuming bank transfers and direct deposits are unnecessary.
4. Confidence: Businesses can rest assured knowing that smart contracts are securely tracked and recorded on the blockchain. This mitigates concern that terms of their contracts may have been altered before they were signed, as well as reducing the potential for disagreements and legal battles. 
5. Simplifies the job of human resources: Because smart contracts are traceable and seamless, they make it much easier for employees, businesses, and HR departments “to satisfy their obligations and comply with company policies and regulations.” 
6. Creates certainty: Because smart contracts leave “no room for interpretation,” they will help eliminate long negotiation periods, contract breaches, legal disputes, and disagreements over whether terms were met. “All parties can see the terms set forth in the code, whether conditions have been satisfied, and what dispute resolution process corresponds to each step of the contract. As a result, there is no doubt what will happen.”

Smart contracts do come with some potential pitfalls. Examples include the potential for flawed code or data, and the inability of parties to reverse any mistakes made in the original contract once it is initiated. With smart contracts, there is simply no room for error of ambiguity. However, given their vast benefits, there is little doubt that many organizations will eventually adopt smart contracts. 

Enterprise Blockchain for Your Industry

What industries can benefit from blockchain technology? Get Enterprise Blockchain for Healthcare, IoT, Energy, and Supply Chain, a five-course program from IEEE, to find out. Developed by leading experts in blockchain technology, this advanced program provides business use cases across key industries and sectors. It’s ideal for managers, professional engineers, and business leaders.

Contact an IEEE Content Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

(14 July 2021). 6 Reasons Why Employers Need to Join the Blockchain Revolution and Consider Smart Contracts. JD SUPRA.

Improving transparency and security, preventing fraud, and reducing errors along supply chain routes are just a few of the ways blockchain can help businesses thrive. Perhaps the biggest benefit of all is the amount of time and money blockchain can save companies while boosting trust and customer loyalty.

“We see a major application of blockchain in supply chain operations,” Cindy Jaudon, a senior leadership team member at IFS, an enterprise software developer, told Forbes. “Blockchain enhances the traceability of goods through an indelible audit trail, improving security, transparency, and regulatory compliance. Businesses can also benefit from greater efficiencies by more quickly identifying where the supply chain might have been impacted, which will enable them to work toward a quicker resolution.”

How Blockchain is Transforming Supply Chains in the Seafood Industry

The seafood industry is just one example of how blockchain is elevating supply chains globally. For decades, seafood buyers had no way of knowing for sure where their fish came from or how it was processed. Now, some fisheries are using blockchain to give their customers insight into precisely where, when, and how of their products. All a customer has to do is scan a barcode to access details about the seafood stored on the blockchain. This decentralized digital ledger of transactions records data about the fish beginning with where it was caught. It can even include the name of the specific fishing vessel. 

“When we catch the fish, we take the head, tail and fins off, then a digital tag gets attached to the trunk of each fish before it gets frozen onboard,” Steve Paku, a fishing captain who works for Austral Fisheries, which has been using blockchain technology since 2019, told The Guardian. “Blockchain backs up the traceability of the fish more substantially–I think this will become the norm in the future.”

When combined with DNA testing, blockchain can also provide information about the specific species of fish customers are buying. This can prevent fraud, a common problem in the seafood industry. Additionally, blockchain can prove to customers that their fish has been caught sustainably and ethically, a major step forward in solving the world’s overfishing problem. (Over 34% of fisheries are overfished, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a top authority on the industry). 

How Will Blockchain Improve Food Supply Chains?

Within the food industry as a whole, blockchain is poised to dramatically transform supply chains. A few ways it will do so include:

Streamlined decision making: Due to silos within the industry, decision making within the current global food supply chain is often fragmented. Because blockchain gives all stakeholders insight into what’s happening in the supply chain, it enables them to make more streamlined decisions. 

Reduced waste: By giving stakeholders end-to-end transparency throughout the supply chain, blockchain can help them quickly spot and fix problems (such as improper storage, temperature changes, and mishandling), and reduce food waste as a result. 

Greater customer satisfaction: Within the current siloed food supply chain, a product’s history is often unclear, as in the case of seafood. As a result, many customers mistrust the information on their food packaging. However, blockchain gives companies the ability to tell customers exactly when, where, and how their food was processed. This transparency can increase customer trust and boost brand loyalty.

Increased clarity on where and how companies should invest their money: Because blockchain gives companies a clear picture into what’s happening in their supply chains, they are better able to pinpoint specific problems and issues within their operations, allowing them to make targeted investments and save money. 

Blockchain is still in its infancy, and there is a long way to go before it can fully resolve some of the issues that plague today’s global supply chains. However, the technology has enormous potential to revolutionize entire industries and the supply chains they depend on. For those who adapt the technology early, the benefits can potentially be huge.

Understand Enterprise Blockchain for Your Industry

Besides food supply chains, what other industries can benefit from blockchain technology? Get Enterprise Blockchain for Healthcare, IoT, Energy, and Supply Chain, a five-course program from IEEE, to find out. Developed by leading experts in blockchain technology, this advanced program provides business use cases across key industries and sectors. It’s ideal for managers, professional engineers, as well as business leaders.

Contact an IEEE Content Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Choudhury, Saptarshi. (2 July 2021). How Transparency Will Elevate the Post-Pandemic Food Supply Chain. Supply Chain Brain. 

Forbes Technology Council. (30 June 2021). 16 Tech Experts Share Blockchain’s Potential Outside The Finance Industry. Forbes.

Turns, Anna. (9 June 2021). Hook to plate: how blockchain tech could turn the tide for sustainable fishing. The Guardian. 

How many fisheries are overfished, and what does that mean? Sustainable Fisheries.