Blockchain application in healthcare supply chain management
Juhi Dwivedi, Bramah Hazela, Pallavi Asthana, Shikha Singh · Supply Chain Management · 2024
In today’s internet-enabled era of technology, businesses will need devices that must interact and transact with one another in a secure, scalable, cost-efficient, and trusted way. Benefits of blockchain are completely on a different level. But to combine the benefits and leverage their feasibility, it is essential that smart healthcare systems bid for the right infrastructure and technology along with the second layer of solution, which include edge computing, virtual reality, and augmented reality that can enhance value. However, there are large challenges ahead in healthcare systems. The supply chain management is one of the challenges in the healthcare industry. Drug delivery and drug counterfeiting are yet another big problem as it leads to massive loses for the whole healthcare industry. Delivery of drug is dependent on supply chain, which suffers from the adverse effect of the supply chain. This dependency leads to manipulated prices, the late supply of drugs, and much more. The current supply chain systems are not capable of keeping the counterfeit drugs at bay. This leads to a massive loss for the healthcare industry. With the right supply chain architecture, we can easily penetrate the healthcare industry while simultaneously radically altering working conditions, employment, and recreation facilities. This chapter, therefore, explores the use and applications of blockchain in the healthcare industry with special emphasis on the drug delivery and drug counterfeit.