How are Smart Contracts reforming the Healthcare sector?
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Imagine for a moment a system of healthcare in which medical professionals would get immediate payment following office visits or treatments. Imagine how much more easily a patient would feel if they could acquire preapproval for an MRI within minutes rather than hours, days, or weeks. In the event of a medical emergency when traveling internationally, how important is it to have fast access to one’s medical records? Using a concept known as smart contracts makes any of these possibilities a reality.
There is no doubt that Blockchain technology has fundamentally altered the economy as a whole. Technology, with its immutability, transparency, anonymity, decentralization, and security, has significantly changed how business is conducted. However, removing the need for intermediaries from transactions is one aspect that has contributed to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology. This technology, which takes the form of smart contracts and, more specifically, smart contracts built on the Ethereum blockchain, reduces the likelihood of any process conflicts, saves time, and makes the process cheaper, faster, and more efficient. Although there is the possibility that smart contract developers could be beneficial to any industry, the healthcare sector stands to gain the most from their implementation.
What is a smart contract?
Imagine for a moment a system of healthcare in which medical professionals would get immediate payment following office visits or treatments. Imagine how much more easily a patient would feel if they could acquire preapproval for an MRI within minutes rather than hours, days, or weeks. In the event of a medical emergency when traveling internationally, how important is it to have fast access to one’s medical records? Using a concept known as smart contracts makes any of these possibilities a reality.
There is no doubt that Blockchain technology has fundamentally altered the economy as a whole. Technology, with its immutability, transparency, anonymity, decentralization, and security, has significantly changed how business is conducted. However, removing the need for intermediaries from transactions is one aspect that has contributed to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology. This technology, which takes the form of smart contracts and, more specifically, smart contracts built on the Ethereum blockchain, reduces the likelihood of any process conflicts, saves time, and makes the process cheaper, faster, and more efficient. Although there is the possibility that smart contract developers could be beneficial to any industry, the healthcare sector stands to gain the most from their implementation.
What is a smart contract?
Smart Contracts are created in computer code and are based on predetermined criteria that users agree upon. The complete terms of the contract are put into effect once the predetermined criteria have been satisfied, just like in a traditional paper contract. There are infinite applications across all fields and professions, including medical ones. A smart contract is a transaction protocol that consists of a pre-programmed condition or action on a blockchain. The purpose of a smart contract is to automate the control, implementation, and documentation of events in accordance with the requirements of an agreement. Because of this, the need for middlemen and arbitrageurs, as well as the opportunity for fraudulent schemes, is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the creation of decentralized applications requires the use of smart contracts.
Quickness, effectiveness, and accuracy
As soon as one of the conditions is satisfied, the contract is instantly put into effect. In addition, because smart contracts are digital and automated, there is no need to handle any paperwork. There is also no need to spend time reconciling any errors, as is typical when documents are manually filled out.
Transparency
There is no need to question if the information has been manipulated for personal profit because no third party is engaged, and encrypted transaction records are shared among all participants.
Security
The records of transactions in a blockchain are encrypted, and it is exceedingly difficult to break into them. In addition, on a distributed ledger, each record is tied to the record that came before it and the record that will go after it. This means hackers would need to change the entire chain to change a single record.
The following is an example of a typical blockchain transaction in the healthcare industry:
1- A new record of the patient’s information, including his age, gender, and address, is generated whenever the patient interacts with a healthcare organization. The data would be saved on a distributed ledger, and a private key would be generated for each patient with smart contract development.
2- It has been determined that the transaction between the patient and the healthcare organization has been successfully finished.
3- Each transaction is encrypted and assigned an identity kept on the blockchain. This identity includes the patient’s public ID, which cannot be used to identify the patient.
4- Health organizations and universities can submit requests for the data using application programming interfaces (APIs). They may then utilize the patient’s public (non-identifiable) ID on the blockchain to access the encrypted data, which can then be studied for medical research purposes.
5- The patient may make his private key available to additional health organizations and permit them to use it to decode the patient’s data by sharing it with them. The patient’s identity is linked to the blockchain data by the private key, and the data do not become recognizable in the absence of the key.
The influence of smart contract development on the healthcare industry:
An individual receiving care from the entity that provides healthcare would receive services. The patient’s public ID would be used to record information regarding the procedure that was carried out, the note from the attending physician, the drug that the pharmacist provided, and other similar details.
Wearables with Intelligent System Integration
The retrieval of data has been fundamentally altered as a result of developments in EMR systems. For instance, you may query the chart of a patient who has CHF to find out their average heart rate and the characteristics they had throughout cardiac rehab. Integrate this data into a wearable device using a smart contract development as the integration method. An alarm goes off whenever the maximum allowable heart rate limits are surpassed. The patient is made aware of the situation and seeks either counsel or rapid medical attention. It is possible to programme the smart contract to notify the medical staff to call the patient or send an ambulance. Disaster averted.Incentives in the form of membershipsPatient compliance is a challenge. How things are done in our system now promotes illness rather than optimal health. Patients who satisfy particular parameters as agreed upon by their care team may be eligible to receive actual benefits via the language generated within a smart contract development. For instance, if a patient’s next two A1c readings are below 7.0, the patient will receive their incentive price, which often consists of a free month’s membership to their existing health club and a movie pass.
Investment opportunities
Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have been around for a while but are still in their early stages. Banks, investment titans, and government regulators have already shown interest because of the intellectual manpower and financial capital that have been spent. The first quarter of this game has not yet passed, and it is time to put on your gear and head out onto the field; healthcare and your patients require your presence on the digital gridiron.
A patient’s chart on the blockchain will readily accommodate the storage of such information. When an approved procedure is scheduled, paper prior authorization is no longer required, and electronic authorization can be quickly done using smart contract development. This eliminates the need for prior approval. The patient then follows through with the medical procedure that has been pre-approved, the smart agreement is then executed, the relevant insurance coverage data is retrieved, and payment is then made to the facility that is carrying out the procedure.
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