• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • BLOG
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Opinion: The Evolution of Healthcare and Life Sciences — Thanks to Blockchain

Opinion: The Evolution of Healthcare and Life Sciences — Thanks to Blockchain

April 5, 2018
Randy Bean, CIO Network, Forbes contributor

For example, some organizations are beginning to use blockchain to apply advanced analytics from distributed sources without compromising the privacy of individuals.

We are now seeing a rapid expansion of blockchain-based technology offerings, many of them in the Healthcare and Pharma/Biotech spaces. A November 2017 article in Forbes, This Is Why Blockchains Will Transform Healthcare, considered some of the latest developments. Though still in the early days and, despite an enormous amount of interest, most of these value propositions remain little more than prototypes. However, the rate of evolution is surprisingly fast, and the time is right to review some of the emerging use cases and consider where things may lead.

First, what is blockchain? In a nutshell, it is a log of transactions that is replicated and distributed across multiple decentralized locations: As such, it offers a secure, high integrity, “neutral” 3rd party mechanism for knowing what data is where and precisely how it is changing over time. Blockchain is not a magic bullet that solves all data management problems but few areas of data sharing cry out more for improvements in efficiency and security than the data domains of Healthcare and Pharma/Biotech.

Blockchain in Healthcare

There are many use cases being explored in Healthcare but let’s narrow our gaze on a few of the most promising:

Health Records

Creating usable, high integrity records associated with a patient despite their moving through different healthcare domains and systems is one of the great challenges of healthcare IT. Blockchain offers the possibility of creating a reliable place to track the changes across systems in a manner that gets around many of the concerns associated with data integration between proprietary systems. In effect, blockchain becomes the unifying glue that holds together a highly fragmented healthcare record.

Read full article

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Supply Chain Visibility Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management SC Security & Risk Mgmt Quality & Metrics Healthcare Industrial Manufacturing Pharmaceutical/Biotech
KEYWORDS Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management healthcare Industrial Manufacturing Pharmaceutical/Biotech Quality & Metrics SC Security & Risk Mgmt Supply Chain Analysis & Consulting Supply Chain Visibility Technology
  • Related Articles

    Is the Life Sciences Industry Living Up to Standards?

    Changes in Prescription Drug Market Bring Changes in Healthcare and Life Science Supply Chains

    Boston Scientific: How the Life Sciences Sector Addresses Risk Management

  • Related Events

    Why IBP May Save Your Supply Chain & How to Run It By This Spring

    Managing Risk Associated with People Connected to your Third-Party Relationships

Randy Bean, CIO Network, Forbes contributor

Opinion: The Evolution of Healthcare and Life Sciences — Thanks to Blockchain

More from this author

Get regular updates!
Subscribe to our newsletter

Enjoy curated articles directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • 1209_themarketforlogistics

    How an Investment Banker Views the Market for Logistics and Supply-Chain Tech

    Technology
  • 1115_chinarareearthminerals

    Podcast | Can China’s Monopoly on Rare Earth Minerals Be Broken?

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • 1206_howglobaltradersplan

    Podcast | How Global Traders Can ‘Plan for Crazy’

    Global Trade Management
  • 1210_cultureoffeargripsups

    ‘Culture of Fear’ Grips UPS: Workers Say Injuries Are Underreported

    Logistics
  • 1125_themodernfactory

    The ‘Modern’ Factory Remains a Dream for Many Manufacturers

    Technology

Digital Edition

55746

Subscribe today and receive the latest issue

Start Your Subscription

Case Studies

  • Energy Storage Company Saves $50 Million With Demand Planning

  • Locus Robotics Helps E-Retailer Deliver During Holiday Peak

  • Manufacturer Slashes Shipping Costs With AI Packaging Solution

  • Apparel Retailer Saves $45 Million With Reverse Logistics Solution

  • QuestaWeb Configures Fragrance Company’s Complex Procedures Into Its Advanced FTZ Software

Visit Our Sponsors

  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • The Magazine
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing