Enhancement of Interoperability in Health Care Information Systems with the Pursuit of Blockchain Implementations

Abstract

Blockchain is a decentralized computation and information-sharing platform that enables multiple authoritative domains to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate in rational decision-making processes. It is an open, immutable ledger, distributed over cluster systems that are decentralized. The past transactions in the distributed ledger are maintained as a chain of blocks and hence called blockchain. The internet world is looking into the benefits of blockchain that can be procured when it is implemented in different areas like governance, healthcare, smart city management and global trade. Blockchain is becoming attractive for innovative business processes because of its characteristics: immutability, decentralization, fast settlement, security, identification and authentication. Blockchain technology can extend its services to various fields such as health management, electronic health record management, health insurance claims, clinical testing, pharmaceutical department, genomic data analysis, etc.in health care organizations. The advantages of using a blockchain based system are that patient health records are stored in a distributed way and there is no need for a centralized owner or hub that can be damaged or interfered with by hackers. The data will be updated and always available, while data from various sources is collected in one repository. There are upcoming projects that focus on specific data modalities such as genomics and imaging. The technology claims to reduce the cost of genome sequencing, controlling patient data, and sharing the value captured from the monetization of the data to patients. It has also use cases in managing clinical trials for pharmaceutical research. There is an emerging blockchain-powered health care system that uses artificial health systems to model and display patient status, diagnosis and care, then use computer experiments to analyze and evaluate various treatment regimens, and carry out parallel implementations to support real-time decisions. In all these applications, interoperability is a crucial factor, because organizations demanding technology expansion have to intersect with multiple technologies or ecosystems to achieve a common framework and better performance. In the future, different levels of blockchain interoperability approaches will unlock the diverging functionalities during integration of multiple technologies.