Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra (CISUC), Department of Informatics Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jul 24;21(8):965. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21080965.
Amid global health challenges, resilient health systems require continuous innovation and progress. Stakeholders highlight the critical role of digital technologies in accelerating this progress. However, the digital health field faces significant challenges, including the sensitivity of health data, the absence of evidence-based standards, data governance issues, and a lack of evidence on the impact of digital health strategies. Overcoming these challenges is crucial to unlocking the full potential of digital health innovations in enhancing healthcare delivery and outcomes. Prioritizing security and privacy is essential in developing digital health solutions that are transparent, accessible, and effective. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have gained widespread attention, including in healthcare, offering innovative solutions and addressing challenges through blockchain technology. This paper addresses the gap in systematic-level studies on NFT applications in healthcare, aiming to comprehensively analyze use cases and associated research challenges. The search included primary studies published between 2014 and November 2023, searching in a balanced set of databases compiling articles from different fields. A review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework and strictly focusing on research articles related to NFT applications in the healthcare sector. The electronic search retrieved 1902 articles, ultimately resulting in 15 articles for data extraction. These articles span applications of NFTs in medical devices, pathology exams, diagnosis, pharmaceuticals, and other healthcare domains, highlighting their potential to eliminate centralized trust sources in health informatics. The review emphasizes the adaptability and versatility of NFT-based solutions, indicating their broader applicability across various healthcare stages and expansion into diverse industries. Given their role in addressing challenges associated with enhancing data integrity, availability, non-repudiation, and authentication, NFTs remain a promising avenue for future research within digital health solutions.
在全球健康挑战中，有弹性的卫生系统需要持续创新和进步。利益相关者强调了数字技术在加速这一进步中的关键作用。然而，数字健康领域面临着重大挑战，包括健康数据的敏感性、缺乏基于证据的标准、数据治理问题，以及数字健康战略影响的证据不足。克服这些挑战对于释放数字健康创新在增强医疗保健提供和结果方面的全部潜力至关重要。在开发透明、可及和有效的数字健康解决方案时，优先考虑安全性和隐私性至关重要。不可替代代币（NFT）引起了广泛关注，包括在医疗保健领域，通过区块链技术提供创新解决方案并解决挑战。本文针对 NFT 在医疗保健中的应用在系统层面研究中的空白，旨在全面分析用例和相关研究挑战。搜索包括 2014 年至 2023 年 11 月期间发表的主要研究，在平衡的数据库中搜索来自不同领域的文章。根据系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）框架进行了审查，并严格关注与医疗保健部门 NFT 应用相关的研究文章。电子搜索检索到 1902 篇文章，最终有 15 篇文章用于提取数据。这些文章涵盖了 NFT 在医疗器械、病理学检查、诊断、制药和其他医疗保健领域的应用，强调了它们在消除健康信息学中集中信任源方面的潜力。该综述强调了基于 NFT 的解决方案的适应性和多功能性，表明它们在各个医疗保健阶段具有更广泛的适用性，并扩展到多个行业。鉴于它们在提高数据完整性、可用性、不可否认性和身份验证方面的挑战方面的作用，NFT 仍然是数字健康解决方案未来研究的一个有前途的途径。
