The healthcare industry has become one of the most gigantic and important sectors, with a global market size of more than $12 trillion (Source: Cross River Therapy).
However, there are multiple issues in the sector that need swift resolution. Many industry experts believe that healthcare is lagging behind technologically and that there are practices and methodologies that have not changed a bit in almost 50 years despite the numerous new challenges that healthcare has to face today. With the increasing number of patients and the scarcity of medical professionals, rising treatment costs became a reality while the accessibility to medical services has not improved at the same rates as the demand for them.
Blockchain technology is believed to be one of the potential solutions to some of the problems in healthcare when it comes to technology, specifically about the way medical data is handled. Some of the novel blockchain-based solutions include highly secured shared medical data records, supply chain optimization of pharmaceutical companies, higher transparency in clinical trials research, workflow improvement for medical professionals through higher degree of process optimization, integration to IoT wearable devices and many more. Since 2016, multiple projects have attempted to implement their own solutions based around these concepts.
In this article, we will take a look at 5 blockchain projects that plan on revolutionizing the healthcare sector in 2023 and beyond.
BurstIQ
BurstIQ is focusing on managing patient data records on the blockchain. As one of the most prominent advantages of the technology specifically for data management, it enables the creation of patient record databases that can be made accessible to stakeholders under the utmost security standards. This will help medical professionals in assigning better treatment by having access to all relevant information about a patient, while also including other stakeholders such as researchers under specific licensing conditions. It can also allow users to have the full control over their data and who they can share it with, as well as to be rewarded if they decide to do so.
Guardtime
Guardtime is focusing on providing governments and healthcare stakeholders with the necessary technical infrastructure and insight on how to best implement blockchain technology in their supply and operational chains. The project has already completed a successful cooperation with the Estonian government and is also working with various healthcare companies around the world on finding the best possible use cases for blockchain technology in their ecosystems.
Embleema
Embleema is focusing on boosting drug trial efficiency and transparency through blockchain. The project creates a regulatory-grade data and bioinformatics platform allowing users to participate in studies, whose data is then securely stored on the Embleema blockchain and analyzed, allowing Embleema to create data-based evidence which is then transmitted to the FDA. Blockchain allows for the traceability of this data, ensuring its validity.
Nebula Genomics
The genetics industry is still in its fairly early stages of development and is believed to be one of the sectors with the highest growth potential in the future. Currently, genetic data is shared across multiple entities, often passing through several intermediary parties before it ends up at the pharmaceutical and biotech companies, which increases its cost. Nebula Genomics is focused specifically on removing these intermediaries through a blockchain-based database that allows pharmaceutical companies to acquire data directly from the users submitting it.
VetAPP – blockchain and AI for the pet healthcare market
There aren’t many projects that are specifically focused on the pet healthcare market, which has been showing some impressive growth over the last several years and is expected to continue to expand at rates that are rivaling those of the human healthcare industry.
VetAPP is a blockchain-based application that creates a comprehensive ecosystem for pet owners, veterinarians and other stakeholders in the pet healthcare market. The app combines a multitude of different functionalities, some of which would potentially solve some of the most pressing problems in the sector.
The project introduces a revolutionary AI-based algorithm that helps pet owners and vets in the early pre-diagnosis of cats and dogs and defines whether a visit to the vet office is necessary, as well as the degree of urgency of the visit. Because more than 70% of all vet examinations end up being unnecessary on average, an AI tool for pre-diagnosis can potentially save a considerable amount of time and resources for both stakeholder groups, while also improving the early stage diagnosis and thus preventing complications.
VetAPP also introduces a matching platform that connects pet owners and vets directly, allowing for better access to vet healthcare services while providing specialists with easy access to a wider customer base. To complement this, VetAPP also introduces handy tools for appointment management and booking, which would ease the burden on veterinarians, lower their administrative costs and ultimately leave them with more time to focus on treatment.
Beyond that, VetAPP introduces a variety of additional concepts such as a marketplace for pet-related products, a social media network, a blockchain integration to IoT wearable devices, multiple incentives through rewards and gamification and many more.
To learn more about VetAPP and their ongoing private sale with special bonuses for early adopters, visit www.vetapp.io
