Ng WY, Tan TE, Movva PVH, Fang AHS, Yeo KK, Ho D, Foo FSS, Xiao Z, Sun K, Wong TY, Sia AT, Ting DSW. (2021). Blockchain applications in health care for COVID-19 and beyond: A systematic review. The Lancet Digital Health, 3(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2589-7500(21)00210-7
Blockchain is a new digital database that stores information in a computer network and maintains secure and decentralized records. Blockchain technology makes it nearly impossible to manipulate or falsify data, is a distributed system, and transparent. Blockchain can be applied in healthcare, especially to improve access, security, and privacy for sensitive patient data and medical records. A systematic review was conducted to explore the uses of blockchain in COVID-19 related and non-related healthcare. The researchers included articles up to July 2021, with clinical and technical designs, with or without prototype development. A total of 415 were included in the final analysis. The results found that blockchain COVID-19 related applications are mostly pandemic control and surveillance, immunity or vaccine monitoring, and contact tracing. The most common non-COVID-19 related applications are management of electronic medical records, remote monitoring or mobile health, and supply chain monitoring. Most publications reported technical performance of the blockchain platforms and only nine studies assessed real-world clinical outcomes. The most widely used platforms were Ethereum and Hyperledger. Overall, the review indicated that blockchain technology has the potential to be helpful in various applications in healthcare; however, there is a need for future research in clinical use of blockchain technology.