Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review
Understanding the prospective of blockchain technology and its uses in the healthcare sector is essential so that its considerable implementation can support the industry’s much-needed digitization. Furthermore, blockchain can provide answers to the issues in the healthcare industry today...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2024-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10379101/ |
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| author | Sarthak Dhingra Rakesh Raut Koteswararao Naik Kamalakanta Muduli |
| author_facet | Sarthak Dhingra Rakesh Raut Koteswararao Naik Kamalakanta Muduli |
| author_sort | Sarthak Dhingra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the prospective of blockchain technology and its uses in the healthcare sector is essential so that its considerable implementation can support the industry’s much-needed digitization. Furthermore, blockchain can provide answers to the issues in the healthcare industry today. Blockchain’s features like security, traceability, transparency, cost efficiency etc. can help bring supply chain transparency, health record management and prevent drug counterfeiting. Blockchain has emerged as a promising technology with great ability to bring changes to the healthcare sector. Therefore, this study aims to comprehend the current state of blockchain technology research in the healthcare supply chains. Further, it presents potential repercussions and the potential routes it may open for future research initiatives in this area. A systematic literature (SLR) process has been used and conducted in two stages. In the first stage, articles were identified through literature search and were subjected to keyword selection, database search and screening process. Finally, 124 papers were categorized through bibliographic coupling. A detailed investigation of these included papers was performed in the second stage with descriptive and content analysis. The results reveal that research related to blockchain applications or implementation is at a nascent stage. The publications in this area have been rising steadily over the past few years. When it comes to publishing in this field, India is the most productive nation while IEEE Access is the most productive journal. Applications for blockchain technology in healthcare include medical insurance, remote patient monitoring, medication supply chain management, electronic health records (EHRs), and more. The most popular use case is EHR management. The analysis further conveys that findings are less generalizable due to more theoretical or less empirically designed studies published in this domain. This study will help stakeholders, policymakers, researchers, and managers in taking strategic decisions regarding the adoption of the technology in the healthcare industry. This study is done concerning the blockchain’s use in the healthcare sector context, so other emerging technologies and sectors not taken must be considered while generalizing the results. This study is among the few up-to-date consolidated attempts to present a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis for assessing blockchain technology’s potential in the healthcare sector. It provides an overview of the published work with implications and proposed cluster-wise future research directions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-459920d717d0418d8ab997c7518ec05e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj-art-459920d717d0418d8ab997c7518ec05e2025-02-05T00:00:44ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362024-01-0112112301125710.1109/ACCESS.2023.334881310379101Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A ReviewSarthak Dhingra0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2317-5965Rakesh Raut1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0469-1326Koteswararao Naik2Kamalakanta Muduli3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4245-9149Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, IndiaDepartment of Operations and Supply Chain Management, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, IndiaDepartment of Operations and Supply Chain Management, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, IndiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New GuineaUnderstanding the prospective of blockchain technology and its uses in the healthcare sector is essential so that its considerable implementation can support the industry’s much-needed digitization. Furthermore, blockchain can provide answers to the issues in the healthcare industry today. Blockchain’s features like security, traceability, transparency, cost efficiency etc. can help bring supply chain transparency, health record management and prevent drug counterfeiting. Blockchain has emerged as a promising technology with great ability to bring changes to the healthcare sector. Therefore, this study aims to comprehend the current state of blockchain technology research in the healthcare supply chains. Further, it presents potential repercussions and the potential routes it may open for future research initiatives in this area. A systematic literature (SLR) process has been used and conducted in two stages. In the first stage, articles were identified through literature search and were subjected to keyword selection, database search and screening process. Finally, 124 papers were categorized through bibliographic coupling. A detailed investigation of these included papers was performed in the second stage with descriptive and content analysis. The results reveal that research related to blockchain applications or implementation is at a nascent stage. The publications in this area have been rising steadily over the past few years. When it comes to publishing in this field, India is the most productive nation while IEEE Access is the most productive journal. Applications for blockchain technology in healthcare include medical insurance, remote patient monitoring, medication supply chain management, electronic health records (EHRs), and more. The most popular use case is EHR management. The analysis further conveys that findings are less generalizable due to more theoretical or less empirically designed studies published in this domain. This study will help stakeholders, policymakers, researchers, and managers in taking strategic decisions regarding the adoption of the technology in the healthcare industry. This study is done concerning the blockchain’s use in the healthcare sector context, so other emerging technologies and sectors not taken must be considered while generalizing the results. This study is among the few up-to-date consolidated attempts to present a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis for assessing blockchain technology’s potential in the healthcare sector. It provides an overview of the published work with implications and proposed cluster-wise future research directions.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10379101/Bibliographic couplingblockchainhealthcaresupply chainsystemic literature review |
| spellingShingle | Sarthak Dhingra Rakesh Raut Koteswararao Naik Kamalakanta Muduli Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review IEEE Access Bibliographic coupling blockchain healthcare supply chain systemic literature review |
| title | Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review |
| title_full | Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review |
| title_fullStr | Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review |
| title_short | Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Supply Chains—A Review |
| title_sort | blockchain technology applications in healthcare supply chains x2014 a review |
| topic | Bibliographic coupling blockchain healthcare supply chain systemic literature review |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10379101/ |
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