Tan Lorwai, Tivey David, Kopunic Helena, Babidge Wendy, Langley Sally, Maddern Guy
Research, Audit and Academic Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Discipline of Surgery, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
ANZ J Surg. 2020 Dec;90(12):2415-2419. doi: 10.1111/ans.16455. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
Blockchain technology is one of the many disruptive technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that will irrevocably change the way we live and work. These technologies are well embedded in the areas of global finance, health care and defence, to name a few. This review focuses on the relevance of blockchain technology to health care. Blockchain technology will be the unifying platform for sharing patient data currently inaccessible due to the siloed architecture of legacy software systems, and as a result potentially be the basis for precision or individualized patient treatment. It will also strengthen digital security of sensitive patient data that is presently a lucrative target for cyber criminals. In the current COVID-19 environment, clinicians will rely more on telehealth to reduce person-to-person contact. This service can be delivered by the clinical team with confidence in the veracity of the patient data made accessible through the blockchain platform. Smart contracts written on the blockchain platform will reduce the possibility of international humanitarian aid to low- and middle-income countries being misspent. The pharmaceutical supply chain industry is adopting blockchain technology to ensure supply chain provenance. Similarly, the health insurance industry recognizes how the blockchain ecosystem can improve services to its members and expedite reimbursements to clinicians.
区块链技术是第四次工业革命众多颠覆性技术之一，将不可逆转地改变我们的生活和工作方式。这些技术广泛应用于全球金融、医疗保健和国防等领域。本综述聚焦于区块链技术与医疗保健的相关性。区块链技术将成为一个统一平台，用于共享因传统软件系统的孤岛式架构而目前无法获取的患者数据，因此有可能成为精准或个性化患者治疗的基础。它还将加强敏感患者数据的数字安全，目前这些数据是网络犯罪分子的诱人目标。在当前的新冠疫情环境下，临床医生将更多地依赖远程医疗来减少人际接触。通过区块链平台获取的患者数据准确性可靠，临床团队可以放心地提供这项服务。在区块链平台上编写的智能合约将减少对低收入和中等收入国家的国际人道主义援助被滥用的可能性。药品供应链行业正在采用区块链技术来确保供应链来源。同样，健康保险行业也认识到区块链生态系统如何能够改善对其成员的服务，并加快向临床医生的报销。
