Reports from Department of Internal Medicine Add New Data to Findings in Health Economics and Policy (Opportunities for Use of Blockchain Technology…

Health & Medicine Week

Reports from Department of Internal Medicine Add New Data to Findings in Health Economics and Policy (Opportunities for Use of Blockchain Technology in Medicine)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Investigators discuss new findings in Health Economics and Policy. According to news originating from Zagreb, Croatia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "Blockchain technology is a decentralized database that stores a registry of assets and transactions across a peer-to-peer computer network, which is secured through cryptography, and over time, its history gets locked in blocks of data that are cryptographically linked together and secured. So far, there have been use cases of this technology for cryptocurrencies, digital contracts, financial and public records, and property ownership."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Department of Internal Medicine, "It is expected that future uses will expand into medicine, science, education, intellectual property, and supply chain management. Likely applications in the field of medicine could include electronic health records, health insurance, biomedical research, drug supply and procurement processes, and medical education. Utilization of blockchain is not without its weaknesses and currently, this technology is extremely immature and lacks public or even expert knowledge, making it hard to have a clear strategic vision of its true future potential. Presently, there are issues with scalability, security of smart contracts, and user adoption."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Nevertheless, with capital investments into blockchain technology projected to reach US$400 million in 2019, health professionals and decision makers should be aware of the transformative potential that blockchain technology offers for healthcare organizations and medical practice."

For more information on this research see: Opportunities for Use of Blockchain Technology in Medicine. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 2018;16(5):583-590. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy can be contacted at: Springer International Publishing Ag, Gewerbestrasse 11, Cham, Ch-6330, Switzerland (see also Health Economics and Policy).

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from R. Likic, Univ Hosp Center Zagreb, Dept. of Internal Med, Unit Clin Pharmacol, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-018-0412-8. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Zagreb, Croatia, Europe, Health Economics and Policy, Technology, Department of Internal Medicine.