The possibilities of blockchain technologies application in the healthcare sector

The article is addressed to analysis of possibilities and prospects for integration of blockchain technologies (BT) in the healthcare sector. BT, originally developed for cryptocurrencies, offers unique advantages such as decentralization, data immutability, transparency and security, which makes it especially relevant for medical sphere. Key applications include medical data management, telemedicine, pharmaceutical logistics, clinical research, and health insurance. In medical data management, BT solves the problems of data fragmentation and security by providing unified access to electronic medical records and protecting them from unauthorized access. Examples of successful projects such as Guardtime and Medicalchain demonstrate efficiency of BT application for data storage and exchange. In telemedicine, blockchain guarantees security of remote consultations, as shown in the Patientory and Robomed Network projects. In the pharmaceutical industry, these technologies help to track supply chains and combat counterfeiting, which is implemented in the Mediledger and Blockpharma platforms. The prospects for the development of BT in healthcare remain promising, especially in combination with areas such as personalized medicine and artificial intelligence. However, despite the advantages of BT, their implementation faces a number of challenges, including high cost, energy consumption, scalability difficulties, and legislative barriers. In addition, an important aspect is the need to achieve «cultural adaptation» to these technologies among medical professionals and patients. In conclusion, blockchain technologies have significant potential to transform healthcare, but their successful implementation requires addressing technical, organizational, and regulatory issues, as well as the active participation of all stakeholders.

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