The open property and decentralized behaviour of the blockchain system have positively impacted many application fields and notably healthcare industry. In fact, the secure and money-saving functioning of such encrypted system has recovered trust in the important industry, which deals with people lives and wellness. However, the functioning has to be monitored by regulatory mechanisms. The creation of networks of the big amount of critical, confidential and very impactful data needs to be well organized. Knowing the components of such networks is the basic step to set the regulatory mechanisms, whether by the governmental institute or by private organisms. This necessity has induced the emergence of programs that aim to create the best environment to exploit the blockchain system in the healthcare industry.
Schemes of blockchain in healthcare:
The blockchain system applied to the healthcare industry has several components that can be considered as specific and particular. This relationship shares the basic elements with others industries. The system is then composed of:
– Transaction data.
– Patient data.
– Smart contracts.
Blockchain system is therefore built up on data storage relating:
• Operators as the sign of interoperability.
• Operators-patients including patient data, operator records and transaction data.
The system as it seems generates a huge amount of data; it is important than set regulatory elements that have the upper hands on the several players in the environment.
Regulatory components:
The need of regulatory organisms or protocols has the origin in the ethereum definition. Such organisms have to deal with the smart contracts edition and the permission level. Healthureum program is obviously built with these factors in consideration. In fact, there is need to set obligation to comply with digital contracts that regulate money transaction, and the need for setting permission levels to ensure the best confidentiality and privacy levels.
Smart contracts:
The use of smart contracts is one way to ensure the commitment of each party to achieve his duty. The smart contract concept is a regulatory factor that has replaced the transaction handler which was once operated through banking agencies. This duty is no longer a part of the process since blockchain does not rely on banks –that’s why blockchain system reduces cost. Smart contracts instead are written codes that allow to servers protocols handling the transaction with high accuracy and high security.
Also, there is perhaps no way to frauds or mistakes. Smart contracts act like an obligation and the involved actors have no control up on it, though the content and the terms are clearly visible to all parties (the blockchain effect). This particular behaviour is due to smart contracts dependencies; they are activated by actions within the blockchain system (a transaction emission, a form submission).
In this context, smart contracts need to be created and executed in total transparency. They are stored in the blockchain network and possibly viewed and updated by more than one actor. The several parties that are bound by the included terms should grant the access to their accounts, allowing transactions are processing with no delays.
Permission level:
This concept was raised by the sensitivity of the shared and stored data. Of course, patients may allow some parties, mainly contracted healthcare operators to access, investigate and update their health records, as well as their contracts histories. The fact is, patients and operators may opt for a higher privacy level, at least while they are bound by the particular smart contract. Hence, the permission level has to affect whether a whole blockchain or some blocks of the blockchain. The permission level allows defining:
Permissioned blockchain:
Permissioned blockchains are not open for everyone. You have to be approved for joining the network of computers in order to have full access to the blockchain system. This duty is perhaps the role of a group moderator; exactly, a regulatory program. Indeed, this should be the blockchain model to adapt when using blockchain system in the healthcare industry.
Permissionless blockchain:
This refers to an open blockchain that anyone can join with no restriction. This model relies on the personal honour and has its side-effects especially when applied to the sensitive field as the healthcare industry.
Conclusion:
Moving to the digital world is definitely a modernizing step. But in order to achieve the highest rates of success, the process has to be regulated and firmly controlled. Blockchain system may lack control and computers authenticity, yet it has the highest level of confidentiality. But when it comes to people lives related industries, regulators must take place and impose their word over the environment. There is no way to be careless.
