Blockchain integration in healthcare: a comprehensive investigation of use cases, performance issues, and mitigation strategies

Abstract

Healthcare is a critical area where blockchain technology (BT) is being heralded as a potential game-changer for facilitating secure and efficient data sharing. The purpose of this review is to examine BT applications, performance challenges, and solutions in healthcare. To begin, This review paper explores popular blockchain networks for data exchange, encompassing both public and permissioned platforms, such as Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric. This paper analyzes the potential applications of BT’s decentralized, immutable, and smart contract capabilities in healthcare settings, including secure and interoperable health data exchange, patient consent management, drug supply chain oversight, and clinical trial management. The healthcare industry might greatly benefit from the increased privacy, transparency, and accessibility that these technologies provide. Despite BT’s promising medical uses, the technology is not without its drawbacks. High energy consumption, throughput, and scalability are all concerns. We wrapped up by discussing the solutions that have been implemented, including consensus processes, scalability measures like sharding, and off-chain transactions that are designed to mitigate the drawbacks.