Framing blockchain-integrated digital twins for emergent healthcare: a proof of concept

Abstract

It has been witnessed that digital technology has the potential to improve the efficiency of emergent healthcare management of Covid-19; however, it has not been widely adopted due to unclear definition and configuration. This research aims to propose a proof of concept of digital twins for emergent healthcare management by configuring the cyber and functional interdependencies of healthcare systems at local and city levels. Critical interdependencies of healthcare systems were firstly identified at both levels, and then the information and associated cyber and functional interdependencies embedded in seven critical hospital information systems (HISs) were identified and mapped. The proposed conceptual digital-twin-based approach was then developed for information coordination among these critical HISs at both local and city levels based on permissioned blockchain to (a) integrate and manage information from the seven critical HISs and (b) further predict the demands for medical resources according to patient trajectories. A case study was finally conducted at three hospitals in London during the Covid-19 period, and the results showed that the developed framework of blockchain-integrated digital twins is a promising way to provide more accurate and timely procurement information to decision makers and can effectively support evidence-based decisions on medical resource allocation in the pandemic.