Blockchain as the Backbone of a Connected Ecosystem of Smart Hospitals
C. M. Nalayini, V. Sathya, Shruthi Arunkumar, M. Dinesh Babu · 2024
The appearance of blockchain technology seems to be a revolutionary agent in the dynamic environment of healthcare, where the networked ecosystem of cognitive hospitals is based on that technology. Among the most remarkable characteristics of blockchain technology is the fact that it is decentralized, transparent, and secure which greatly revolutionizes the management, sharing, and accessibility of health data within and between health facilities. This paper aims to review blockchain as the compulsory role played in promoting the integrated smart hospital environment. Confidentiality and integrity of the medical data are ensured by decentralization and crypto-mechanisms of blockchain. Patient records, treatment histories, and other confidential patient data are secured in blockchain-based tamper-resistant blocks thereby significantly reducing the risk of occurrences such as data breaches and unauthorized access. Since blockchain is a decentralized storage, it makes interoperability issues easier between the smart hospitals as part of the data is present and manageable directly from each smart hospital. The interdependent ecosystem has smart contracts as one of its constituents. The self-executing contracts provide support by simplifying various hospital processes that would otherwise either be very complicated or necessitate manual processes by making automatic, rule-based transactions. Among the specific areas in which smart contracts can alleviate human interference and, consequently, reduce errors and bureaucratic work are supply chain management, insurance claims, and billing. This ensures operational efficiency not only cheaper healthcare provision. An essential part of the smart hospital ecosystem based on blockchain is patient orientation. Today, patients have a greater right to decide on who should be authorized access to their health data as well as the purposes of such access. It enabled people to take a keen interest in making decisions about healthcare in the sense that blockchain technology ensures open cooperation between doctor and patient. Considering blockchain as the foundation of a network of connected smart hospitals, it ensures the protection of data, interoperability, and patient empowerment, thereby making steps toward the advanced, patient-centered, and technologically driven healthcare model of the future.