Drug Recall Management for Pharmaceutical Industry from Blockchain Perspective
S. Mahirah, B. Geetha, Narayanaswamy Harikrishnan, S. Preethi Priyadarshini · 2024
A drug recall system is one of the effective ways to prevent consumers from consuming defective or potentially hazardous products. It is decided by the manufacturer to recall the defective products from the market once they identify any defect or harmfulness in the manufactured product. Recalls are done if the product is contaminated, cross-contaminated, and if any physical changes are found which could cause improper dosing, bacterial contamination, lab mix-ups, specifications are not as required, etc. Thus, drug recalling becomes more important in the pharmaceutical industry. Conventional recall methods are time consuming, highly expensive, and not much effective to employ when recalling a product from all the levels in the market where it has reached. The blockchain system enables effective handling of both forward and backward chain of supply. The forward chain model eases the supply of drug until the end user in a lesser span of time. The backward chain model enables the recall of drugs from the market. The transaction data at all stages involved in the supply chain are stored in a blockchain system which will get reflected for everyone. This enables the execution of contracts without the intervention of third parties, reduces paper works, and also enables automation. The blockchain system can be both centralized and decentralized based on the network of organization connected in it. All data entered in the blockchain are saved as blocks, which once entered by one party cannot be changed by anyone involved in the supply chain but can only be viewed. This enables high protection, privacy, and security of the data. Moreover, when data are into the blocks, comparison of the same is made with the built-in standard specifications, and defects, if any, are intimated immediately on that stage itself. Thus, blockchain technology is enabling early detection and correction of defects. Communication among all the stakeholders involved in the supply chain can be made on a one-shot basis since all are interconnected in the blockchain. By employing the blockchain technology in drug recalling, a lot of time input can be saved, effective recall can be done, and see-through results can be reached.