How To Develop A Blockchain For Medical Records Application?

Imagine a healthcare system where you have complete control over your medical records, yet they are tamper-proof and readily available to authorized individuals. This is the promise of blockchain technology in medical records management.

Blockchain empowers patients with ownership and control of their information, by securely storing medical records on a distributed ledger. This not only enhances privacy but also fosters trust and transparency within the healthcare ecosystem. 

Developing blockchain solutions for medical records not only enhances the overall operation but also offers business opportunities to tap into the profitable market and scale globally.

In this blog, we will explore factors affecting cost and key considerations for building a secure, user-friendly application.

Blockchain In Healthcare Market

According to precedence research, the blockchain in the healthcare market is estimated to rise to approximately USD 14.25 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 34.02% from 2023 to 2032.

Source: Precedence Research

A booming blockchain healthcare market signifies a treasure trove of opportunities for entrepreneurs. This growth reflects a rising demand for secure, transparent solutions in healthcare. 

By leveraging blockchain technology, you can develop innovative products that address critical issues like data privacy, counterfeit drugs, and inefficient record-keeping. Imagine building platforms that empower patients to control their medical data or streamline clinical trials. 

The growing market supports the necessity for these solutions, laying the groundwork for your success in this transformative healthcare scenario.

Blockchain Use Cases for Medical Records

Blockchain technology offers several promising applications within the healthcare sector, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted its potential. Here’s a closer look at how blockchain can be leveraged in various healthcare domains:

1. Enhanced Contact Tracing

Blockchain’s decentralized nature can facilitate secure and confidential contact tracing during outbreaks. By leveraging granular data, public health officials can efficiently identify individuals potentially exposed to the virus.

2. Improved Patient Record Sharing

Blockchain can establish a “light” electronic health record system accessible during emergencies. This allows healthcare providers to access a patient’s medical history seamlessly, ensuring continuity of care even in situations like pandemics or natural disasters.

3. Streamlined Clinical Trial Management

Blockchain can revolutionize clinical trials by enabling real-time data capture, secure data exchange, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, it provides an auditable record of data access, enhancing data privacy and protection.

4. Transparent Medical Supply Chain Management

Blockchain can streamline the medical supply chain by expediting verification processes and reducing reliance on third-party involvement. This translates to faster processing times, lower costs, and improved risk management throughout the medical supply chain, including vaccine manufacturing.

5. Traceable Donation Tracking

During pandemics, donations play a vital role in supporting those affected. Blockchain can ensure secure and transparent donation tracking, allowing donors to easily monitor how their contributions are being utilized.

6. Efficient Outbreak Tracking

Blockchain’s secure and tamper-proof nature makes it ideal for tracking outbreaks like COVID-19. Critical data related to the pandemic can be stored securely on the blockchain for future reference and analysis.

Must Have Features For Blockchain-Based Health Records Application

Blockchain technology offers a unique approach to managing health records. ScienceSoft’s solutions leverage this technology to provide a secure and efficient system with several key features:

1. Empowering Care Teams and Ensuring Data Integrity

Authorized healthcare providers can seamlessly create and access patient records within a secure interface. However, record creation goes through a validation process by the blockchain network, guaranteeing the accuracy and integrity of the data entered.

2. Building Trust Through Transparency

Blockchain immutably stores all changes made to a health record, including timestamps and the identity of the healthcare professional who made the change. This fosters trust and transparency for patients, insurance providers, and other stakeholders relying on this data.

3. Unalterable Records for Peace of Mind

Blockchain technology utilizes hashing functions to create unique identifiers for each record. This ensures that once information is entered, it cannot be tampered with, providing patients with peace of mind regarding the accuracy of their health history.

4. Putting Patients in Control

Patients have convenient access to their health data through a dedicated patient interface. This interface can be integrated with patient portals or telehealth applications, offering patients a familiar and user-friendly platform to manage their health information.

5. Simplifying Referrals and Appointments

Smart contracts automate the verification process for doctor referrals and streamline patient appointment scheduling. This reduces administrative burdens and expedites care coordination.

6. Enhancing Remote Care

The system seamlessly integrates with remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices. Patient monitoring reports are automatically recorded within the secure blockchain-based health record, providing a comprehensive view of a patient’s health.

7. Robust Security and Compliance

Multi-factor authentication, private ID-based authorization, and role-based access control ensure only authorized users can access specific data within the system. Additionally, data encryption and fraud detection algorithms further enhance security and compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Real Examples of Blockchain For Medical Records 

Blockchain technology, the system behind cryptocurrencies, is making this vision a reality. Businesses are starting to leverage blockchain’s unique properties to transform how medical records are stored, shared, and accessed. Let’s explore into some real-world examples of how businesses are putting blockchain to work in the realm of medical records.

1. BurstIQ

This platform provides a secure and decentralized ecosystem for storing, sharing, and managing patients’ health information. This includes medical records, social security numbers, and bank account details. Patients can control access and grant permission to specific healthcare providers. BurstIQ utilizes blockchain’s immutability to ensure data integrity, meaning any changes are traceable and verifiable, preventing unauthorized modifications.

2. MediLedger

This consortium tackles a critical issue in the pharmaceutical industry: counterfeit drugs. MediLedger leverages blockchain to track and trace medications throughout the supply chain, from manufacturing to dispensing. This enhances transparency and accountability, ensuring the authenticity and safety of medications reaching patients. By identifying potential weak points in the supply chain, MediLedger empowers stakeholders to combat counterfeit drugs and improve patient safety.

3. Chronicled

A leader in blockchain-based supply chain solutions, Chronicled is collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to track and trace medications. Their platform allows for real-time monitoring of medication movement, providing valuable insights into logistics and inventory management. Additionally, Chronicled’s blockchain technology strengthens the fight against counterfeit drugs by creating an auditable record of a medication’s journey, making it easier to identify and remove illegitimate products from the supply chain.

4. Gem

This healthcare data platform empowers patients with control over their medical records. Built on blockchain, Gem allows patients to securely store their health information and grant access to authorized providers. Patients can also track how their data is being used, fostering transparency and building trust within the healthcare ecosystem. By placing patients at the center of their health data, Gem fosters a more patient-centric approach to healthcare.

5. Guardtime

A cybersecurity company, Guardtime utilizes blockchain technology to secure electronic health records. Their platform acts as a shield against unauthorized access to patient data. By leveraging blockchain’s tamper-proof nature, Guardtime ensures the integrity of medical records, preventing unauthorized modifications and data breaches. This enhances patient privacy and builds trust within the healthcare system.

How to Develop a Blockchain for Medical Records Application?

This document serves as a comprehensive guide for developing a secure Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system using blockchain technology. The core objective is to safeguard EMRs and grant authorized access to both healthcare providers and patients. The development process can be broken down into the following stages:

1. Project Scope & Approach

This stage involves defining the project’s goals, which are securing EMRs on a blockchain and granting authorized access to stakeholders. Here, you’ll also choose Hyperledger Fabric for EMR security and Ethereum for developing a DApp to manage access.

2. Team Formation

Assembling a team with the necessary skills is crucial. Look for individuals with expertise in business analysis, UI/UX design, web development, blockchain development for both Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum, testing, and project management.

3. Similar Project Study

Researching existing blockchain EMR projects like Medicalchain can provide valuable insights into their functionalities and help you understand the landscape better. Studying similar projects can act as a springboard for your own development process, allowing you to learn from successful implementations and avoid potential pitfalls.

4. Hyperledger Fabric Setup

To simplify infrastructure management, you can leverage a “Blockchain as a Service” (BaaS) platform like IBM Blockchain Platform. BaaS platforms offer a pre-configured blockchain environment, allowing you to focus on developing your application instead of managing the underlying infrastructure.

5. Develop Fabric App

The design of this app should leverage Hyperledger Fabric’s features to ensure secure storage of EMRs. Hyperledger Fabric offers various functionalities such as access control and channel communication, which can be utilized to create a secure and permissioned environment for storing EMR data.

6. Ethereum Setup

This stage involves creating an Ethereum account, acquiring Ether for DApp deployment, and installing essential Ethereum development tools like Ganache, Truffle Suite, and Web3.js. Ganache acts as a local blockchain simulator, allowing you to test your DApp smart contracts in a secure and controlled environment before deploying them on the Ethereum mainnet. Truffle Suite is a popular framework that streamlines the development and deployment of Ethereum smart contracts. Web3.js is a JavaScript library that facilitates communication between your DApp’s front-end and the Ethereum blockchain.

7. Develop Ethereum DApp

Here, you’ll write smart contracts using Solidity within the Remix IDE. These smart contracts will manage user permissions and interactions within the system. For instance, a smart contract could control who can add new data to a patient’s EMR, who can view the data, and what kind of audit logs are maintained. Solidity is a high-level programming language specifically designed for writing smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. Remix IDE is a web-based integrated development environment that provides a user-friendly interface for writing, testing, and deploying smart contracts.

8. Test & Deploy Smart Contracts

Before deploying the smart contracts on the Ethereum mainnet, rigorous testing on a test network is essential. Test networks are separate blockchain environments that mimic the functionality of the main net but with fake currency. This allows you to identify and rectify any bugs or vulnerabilities in your smart contracts before they impact real users and data. Once you’re confident in the functionality of your smart contracts, you can deploy them on the Ethereum mainnet.

9. DApp Token Creation

Develop smart contracts to create a unique cryptocurrency token specifically for your DApp using the ERC20 standard. The ERC20 standard is a widely adopted technical specification that ensures compatibility with most Ethereum wallets and exchanges. This token could be used for various purposes within your EMR system, such as incentivizing data sharing or granting access to premium features.

10. Front-End Development

The DApp’s front-end needs to connect with the smart contracts. The Web3.js library facilitates this connection. Web3.js allows you to interact with the Ethereum blockchain from your DApp’s user interface, enabling users to view their medical records, grant access to healthcare providers, and potentially even pay for services using the DApp token.

11. Smart Contract Initialization

Retrieve the ABI (Application Binary Interface) and contract address from the deployed smart contracts. Update your code to utilize these details for interacting with the smart contracts. The ABI essentially acts as a translator between your DApp’s front-end and the smart contracts, allowing them to communicate seamlessly. The contract address is a unique identifier for your smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.

12. DApp & Fabric App Integration

The final step involves integrating the Ethereum DApp with the Fabric app using the Fabric application programming interface (API). The Fabric API provides a set of methods that allow the DApp to interact with the EMR data stored on Hyperledger Fabric. This integration enables a seamless user experience, where users can manage their EMRs and interact with healthcare providers through the user-friendly DApp interface, while the underlying EMR data remains secure and permissioned on Hyperledger Fabric.

Cost Affecting Factors To Consider To Develop A  Blockchain For Medical Records Application

Building a blockchain application for this requires careful cost planning. Let’s explore the key factors impacting the cost.

1. Management Complexity

The more complex the functionalities and data management needs of your application, the higher the development cost. A simple system for sharing basic medical records will be cheaper than a comprehensive platform managing appointments, prescriptions, and insurance data.

2. Blockchain Type

There are different types of blockchains, each with its own advantages and costs. Public blockchains are permissionless and generally free to use, but may not be ideal for sensitive medical data. Private blockchains offer more control and security, but require setting up and maintaining your own network infrastructure.

3. Developer Expertise

Hiring experienced blockchain developers who understand healthcare regulations and data security will cost more than working with a less specialized team. However, their expertise can save you money in the long run by avoiding development pitfalls and ensuring compliance.

4. Security Layers

The level of security needed for your application will impact the cost. Strong encryption, access controls, and audit trails are essential for protecting sensitive medical data, but they also add complexity and cost to the development process.

5. Maintenance and Testing

Blockchain applications require ongoing maintenance and testing to ensure security and functionality. Factor in the cost of ongoing support after the initial development is complete.

These estimated cost ranges are general approximations and can vary significantly depending on the specifics of the project, such as the scale, features, and technology stack chosen. Additionally, these costs may fluctuate based on market rates and geographical location of developers.

Cost Affecting Factor	Estimated Cost Range
Management Complexity	$10,000 – $50,000
Blockchain Type	$20,000 – $100,000
Developer Expertise	$30,000 – $150,000
Security Layers	$50,000 – $200,000
Maintenance and Testing	$20,000 – $100,000

Conclusion

While leveraging blockchain to secure Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) offers immense potential, its implementation is intricate.  The ideal system needs to seamlessly integrate public and private blockchains, a unique challenge demanding expertise in both realms.  

These projects require not just talented blockchain developers, but a project manager with a deep understanding of this specialized technology.  Considering the complexity involved, partnering with an experienced development firm can be a strategic move.  

Their expertise can streamline the process, ensuring a secure and efficient EMR system that empowers authorized stakeholders with rightful access.

How We Can Help? 

Our blockchain development solutions can secure and share healthcare data only with authorized parties at the right time. These platforms hold complete and up-to-date patient information, aiding in combating prescription drug abuse. 

We develop secure distributed systems using various technologies to save physicians time and protect patients. While AI’s diagnostic efficiency surpasses humans, it requires the vast amount of data stored on the blockchain to move medicine forward. We analyze each healthcare system’s specific needs and implement lasting solutions using the best technologies.

Contact us today to understand more about how we can enhance your medical records with our blockchain development services.

FAQ

Q. What are the advantages of using blockchain for medical records?

A. Blockchain offers significant advantages for medical records management. It can improve data security by creating an immutable and tamper-proof record of patient data. This reduces the risk of breaches and unauthorized modifications. Additionally, blockchain facilitates secure and transparent data sharing between authorized parties, streamlining care coordination and improving patient access to their information.  

Q.  What are the key considerations for developing a blockchain-based medical records application?

A. Developing a successful blockchain application for medical records requires careful planning and consideration. Firstly, defining the project scope is crucial. This involves determining the specific functionalities and data points the application will manage. Secondly, choosing the right blockchain platform is essential. Public blockchains offer transparency, but scalability and regulatory compliance might be concerns.  

Q.  What technical expertise is required to build a blockchain medical records application?

A. Building a robust blockchain application for medical records necessitates a team with diverse expertise. In-depth knowledge of blockchain technology, cryptography, and smart contract development is essential. Additionally, the team should possess experience with healthcare data security and regulatory compliance. 

Q.  What are the potential challenges of implementing a blockchain-based medical record system?

A. While promising, implementing a blockchain-based medical record system presents certain challenges. One concern is scalability – public blockchains might struggle to handle the vast amount of medical data generated. Integration with existing healthcare IT systems can also be complex. 

Q.  Is blockchain the future of medical records management?

A. Blockchain holds immense potential for transforming medical records management. Its focus on security, transparency, and data ownership aligns perfectly with the evolving needs of the healthcare industry. While challenges exist, ongoing advancements in blockchain technology and collaboration among stakeholders are paving the way for wider adoption.