Blockchain-Based Medicine Supply Chain for Transparent Healthcare Tracking

Abstract

The Medicine Supply Chain (MSC) faces critical challenges in traceability, transparency, and counterfeit prevention. This paper proposes a Blockchain-based solution using Ethereum smart contracts (developed in Solidity, deployed via Truffle, and tested on Rinkeby and localhost networks) to enhance MSC integrity. The framework introduces consumer authentication, Universal Product Code (UPC) registration, and transaction logging to ensure end-to-end drug traceability. By embedding multilingual UPCs (e.g., Urdu, Hindi), the system improves accessibility for diverse healthcare users, who can verify medicine authenticity via QR codes or a dedicated mobile app. The study examines scalability challenges (e.g., managing 100K+ UPCs in large healthcare networks) and evaluates the shifting dynamics among stakeholders (suppliers, processors, retailers). Public Blockchain implementation demonstrates potential for decentralized, tamper-proof record-keeping, though trade-offs in efficiency and adoption barriers persist.