Blockchain – iView Labs

How Blockchain Manages Data?

Introduction:

Blockchain technology is nowadays snatching the attention of every digital and print media. With the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies, the technology behind them is also attracting the tech-savvy world. Though blockchain was initially invented to develop bitcoin, its immense usability in other aspects is now attracting several industries, from healthcare to fintech.

Nowadays, data is the most valuable asset. Technology experts and data scientists have observed that one of the most viable usages of blockchain is in the data management sector. And the most exciting aspect is how blockchain helps make data management more secure and efficient. Let’s have a look.

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is not as easy as it sounds. But in a simplified form, we can explain blockchain as a distributed and decentralized ledger or register where all the transactional records are stored in a structured format in a database. Blockchain is an amalgamation of two words, “Block” and “Chain.” “Block” represents the transactional records or data, and “Chain”- which is a combination of database networks connected through peer-to-peer nodes. It is a highly secured “digital ledger,” unalterable, and can be shared within the network like we use Google Docs. Anybody in the network can see and modify it, but all the activities are tracked in real-time.

In the blockchain, it is vital to understand that you cannot transfer the data but rather distribute the information among all the interconnected devices, also known as nodes. That’s why blockchain has a permanent record of every transaction and information, making it the most secure data management platform.

Why use blockchain for data storage?

The current problem:

The traditional data storing concept is mainly concentrated on cloud storage. There are some advantages to using the cloud for storing massive amounts of data. But it also brings several problems for users in the data management which are

Low security: The major disadvantage of the current data management system is that all the information is located on a centralized platform. This increases the risk of data vulnerability.

Mutability: Another drawback is during the transaction, the data is not encrypted, which makes it easier for hackers to tamper with the data.

Unclear Traceability and Authenticity: The current cloud system cannot offer any robust process to trace the source of the breach. It always raises the question of the authenticity of the data.

With the use of blockchain:

The data is stored in a decentralized manner where every involved party can control the data.

Blockchain offers transparency of the data, which is visible to everybody.

Blockchain provides tamper-evidence of the data. When a datasheet or information is changed, the blockchain captures each and every transaction, which you cannot delete.

How is data stored in a blockchain?

Data storing in the blockchain system takes place by using decentralization and cryptographic hashing. Blocks are the units or primary building components of a blockchain. Putting one block upon another generates a chain of blocks containing a data link system. Let’s have a step-by-step look.

Step-1: let’s assume that the blockchain is a wall of bricks and the starting brick on the base is the initial block for the blockchain.

Step-2: The next block stores the information about the unique hash of the previous block.

Step-3: The block stores the data and information inside it, and a hash is generated for the unique data.

Step-4: Likewise, every block preserves unique data, and therefore, a different hash is generated for every block.

Step-5: Now, if any change occurs in any data, it triggers a change in the hash key of that block. This changed hash key now cannot be fitted with the next block of the chain, and therefore, consecutive change in the data of the next block is required.

Step-6: This function triggers a simultaneous change in every block of the chain, which ultimately restricts the overall tampering of the information in the blockchain.

Benefits of blockchain for data management:

Protection of critical data:

With the advent of digital revolution, the number of cybercrimes has also drastically increased across the globe. And there is a good reason for everyone to be worried about the exploitation of their personal data. According to the Cybercrime Magazine, by 2025, cybercrime will cost $10.5 trillion per year worldwide. Hackers are not only targeting the giant organizations, but also MSMEs are getting affected by cyber-attacks.

Stringent security measures like implementing blockchain technology can provide considerable security to the data at every level. Though it is not full proof, the chances of data breach can be reduced significantly.

Data quality:

As we are moving into a data-driven world, which is more important is the quality of data. Every organization analyzes a giant pile of data for their business growth. And if the study is done on poor quality data, it may lead to destruction.

In the blockchain network, every piece of data is analyzed and cross-checked thoroughly before adding it to the next block. This extra layer of scrutiny ensures that the information must have superior quality or the data get rectified before passing on to the following receiver block. Gartner says that organizations will have 50% more high-quality data in their system through blockchain smart contracts.

Data Traceability and transparency:

Traceability and data transparency are now essential for every industry to grow in the competitive market. In Healthcare, food, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and the supply chain, every industry is struggling to get complete visibility of the data and track it on a real-time basis. To meet the high customer expectation of minimum lead time, organizations are now able to improve their efficiency by implementing blockchain in their system. Through blockchain in the supply chain, all the stakeholders can securely access the shared ledger data without any fear of tampering.

Critical data Sharing:

Data sharing without fear of losing or tampering is a tough job. The legacy systems do not provide this facility, and here comes the blockchain application. Through its decentralized nature, blockchain allows to share information to every party involved. Interestingly, by its inherent nature, everybody with a permission can see it but cannot alter it, making it more trustworthy.

The Bottom Line:

Recognizing the exceptional benefit of blockchain technology in data management, organizations are adopting it very fast. With the increase in internet usage, the chances of a data breach will also shoot up. Before it is too late, it is vital for businesses like you to implement this most advanced, highly secured, and efficient technology.

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What is the Role of Technology in Healthcare?

Healthcare is a sector where there is great scope for technological innovation. Due to its essential nature, the healthcare industry is only going to grow, and the demand for technological solutions to refine healthcare systems and processes is only going to expand. In addition, new and exciting developments in fields like communications, data analysis, biotechnology, blockchain etc., can help hospitals and doctors provide the best and most efficient solutions to patients.

In this article, we’ll be discussing some of the emerging trends related to the role of technology in healthcare.

Big Data Analysis

Due to the extensive increase in the need for medical facilities in recent days, integration of big data analysis in the healthcare industry has become very important.

Due to extensive increase in need of medical facilities in recent days, integration of big data analysis in the healthcare industry has become crucial. Some of its applications are:

Efficient hospital staffing: By studying the past and present admission rates, hospitals can estimate the future admission rates. Based on this, they can take decisions as to how many staff to hire and which facilities they should be assigned to.

Error-proof medication: Data analysis systems can flag any errors or inconsistencies in the treatments or medicines assigned to the patient by studying patients’ medical history. This will be a failsafe against mistakes made by the hospital staff.

Preventive care: Again, by analysing patients’ medical history, systems can detect the early symptoms of any medical conditions so doctors can treat them before they reach the serious stage.

Wearable Medical Devices

Wearable medical devices like pacemakers, fitness trackers etc., are a burgeoning part of the healthcare market, and they are expected to form a 27 billion USD market by 2023. Examples of wearable devices are heart rate trackers, calorie trackers, oximeters and fitness trackers. These devices provide medical information about the patient in real-time and can provide advance warning of major health issues.

Fitness trackers give the patient a sense of responsibility and give them control over their own health. Since they can directly see their activity level, they are encouraged to exercise more to reach some tangible goals. By adding rewards, alerts etc., these trackers “gamify” the fitness process and make it less of a chore for patients.

Virtual Reality Tech

Some doctors are using VR tech to provide relief to patients with chronic pain issues. Since pain is felt in the brain, distracting the brain with VR or other engaging tasks which require a high level of participation and interest from the patient can reduce their pain levels.

Another application of VR tech is in reducing the anxiety levels of patients who are about to undergo surgery. By distracting the patients through virtual reality, doctors can take their thoughts away from the impending surgery, thereby reducing stress and anxiety levels and improving mental health and wellness.

Apart from helping patients, VR tech can help doctors hone their own skills. For example, doctors can rehearse complicated surgeries in virtual reality and get a better, immersive understanding of the internal arrangement of the human body, including even the smallest organs.

Blockchain

Blockchain is a major milestone in the field of encryption technology and data security. Keeping the patients’ medical records secure and private is very important for healthcare facilities. This information must also be shared between hospitals when patients are transferred from one facility to another. Blockchain in the healthcare market is estimated to be worth almost 900 million dollars by 2023, showing that hospitals are starting to understand the value of this technology.

Vendors like BurstIQ and Medicalchain are working to apply blockchain to the healthcare sector. They empower patients to have control over their medical records and are helping hospitals to store, organise and transmit patients’ medical information safely.

Telehealth

Telehealth and online medical consultations have come to the forefront of the healthcare sector due to the restrictions on in-person interactions imposed by the advent of the Covid-19. Even without the pandemic, telehealth comes as a boon to those patients living in remote or rural areas who can’t often travel to the doctor or patients with severe mobility issues (e.g. patients who use wheelchairs or patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases) who can’t easily leave their houses to visit the doctor.

Another use case is for patients suffering from contagious illnesses. Despite all the precautions that are taken, there is still the possibility of them spreading the disease. Again, telehealth can be used to treat these patients remotely.

Conclusion

Technology will definitely play an ever-increasing role in healthcare in this new digital age. From empowering people to ensure their fitness, protecting patients’ privacy and medical data, and helping hospitals make more efficient decisions vis a vis staffing and treatment, technological innovations can help doctors and patients in more ways than one.

iView Labs believes in bringing a better version of the healthcare industry at your call, we have a versatile team of developers and consultants to assist you to meet all the innovations you are planning for your healthcare business.

If you are interested in learning more about how to avail of these services, visit www.iviewlabs.com or write to us at sales@iviewlabs.com in case you have any queries. You can download our latest portfolio to get to know us better.

How Estonia is Creating Waves in the Field of Healthcare / How Estonia is teaching the world a lesson in digital health

Estonia has come to be known as a digital-first nation providing its citizens with solutions such as i-voting and e-residency. Furthermore, it has been in the vanguard of digitizing healthcare too. With a population of just 1,328,046, this small EU member is spearheading the digital healthcare phenomenon.

A favorable place to do business, Estonia welcomes people from all walks of life, due to its agile methods and openness to innovations. It has become the playground for several tech tycoons and healthcare investors. Today, Estonia ranks first in the Digital Health Index with an incredible e-health score of 81.9. It set high standards for Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) and the rest of the world is anticipated to soon follow suit.

The emergence of Coronavirus was a pivotal phase in Estonia’s Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) coming to the limelight. While most countries struggled to cope with the outbreak, Estonia’s digital health record systems made it easier for medical practitioners to devote more time to help combat the deadly virus.

Let’s take a closer look at how Estonia is embracing digital life and paving the way for a more comfortable and convenient healthcare system.

A national database of digital medical records
Almost all of Estonia’s hospitals and doctors have digitized their patient data, allowing citizens to access their medical records with relative ease. There are close to 40 million health documents in the e-Health system. This straightforward procedure has sparked interest, with Denmark and Spain following suit. The EHR system benefits both patients and doctors because it saves time and allows for quick and precise diagnosis.

E-ambulance service at your fingertips

Another advantage of the EHR system in Estonia is the availability of e-ambulance services, which detect the position of the person seeking aid within 30 seconds, resulting in a faster turnaround time for treatment. It also provides the medical personnel to view the medical records of the patient they are about to save. This enables on-the-spot treatment depending on the person’s previous medical history.

Hassle-free e-prescriptions

Another important digital solution that Estonia has mastered is e-prescription. A warning notice is issued when a doctor recommends a prescription that may interfere with the current medication a patient is taking. The doctor can then recommend a different treatment to avoid side effects or any other potentially dangerous medical scenario. The technology also generates e-prescriptions, allowing patients to obtain re-prescriptions based on the doctor’s recommendations without having to visit the hospital.

EHRs a reality or a pipe dream for India?

In the healthcare sector, India is still developing and needs to speed up the digitization process. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have become a crucial facet of healthcare, and the government is slowly but steadily looking into them to provide its residents with the best-in-class healthcare facilities.

There are various obstacles to overcome on the way to making EHR a reality in India. Here are a few:

An expensive affair
Hardware, software, employee training, network fees, and maintenance can all seem a bit pricey in the beginning.
Data leaks
Indians are still hesitant to share their personal information because they believe that data leakage is a major worry.
Data migration
Converting data from paper to digital records is a difficult undertaking.
Training of medical personnel
Doctors will need to devote additional time to learning and adapting to the new system.
Lack of technical guidance
Another issue that private and small health facilities confront is a lack of in-house technical assistance to ensure that EHR systems work smoothly.

What can India learn?

For the health record of any individual to be of clinical value, it needs to cover the various staged of life along with every clinical encounter that the person underwent throughout these stages. It hence becomes critical for the records to be available, in a chronological order to provide a summary of the various healthcare events throughout the life of the patient.

India is still in the early stages of implementing EHR systems. India can successfully integrate EHR systems in the future if it focuses on the following factors:

The PPP Way: A higher level of public-private partnership is required to address infrastructure shortcomings in the healthcare delivery system. The commercial sector must be aware of public health issues, as these will have an impact on healthcare’s overall success. The private sector has the ability to bring in massive quantities of money to build world-class healthcare facilities for the general public. Simultaneously, the public sector can provide the necessary subsidies and accessibility. To attain universal health coverage and offer high-quality care at a reasonable cost, PPP employs a high volume, low margin strategy.

Personnel Training: Transitioning from legacy systems to newer ways of keeping records could be challenging in the beginning. Doctors and healthcare personnel must be properly trained in order to be able to leverage the advantages of this system. It may appear time-consuming at first, but in the long term, it will save time and provide a more open and simple manner of dealing with health issues.

Uniformity: In order to ensure health records across systems, organizations and institutions can seamlessly sync with each other, certain homogeneity is required in the way the records are stored. Guidelines have already been established by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, keeping in view the suitability and applicability in India. Institutions across the country need to ensure that they comply to these standards to be able to contribute towards the larger objective.

Security: Maintaining high level of data security to ensure sensitive data of patients is protected is a must. Drawing parallels, there was a lot of resistance to online payments in the beginning, but once the security and privacy concerns are addressed, people have readily accepted digital as a preferred mode of payment. E-HRs will be a similar story.

The pandemic served as a wake-up call for several countries including India. We are compelled to steer away from the conventional healthcare models to more unconventional ones. E-HR is the next power move promising to uplift the health conditions and healthcare experience of the general populace. From luxury, it needs to become a basic necessity. And to make it a reality, India as a country, needs to learn from many other countries and move at an exponential speed to emerge as a forerunner in the digital healthcare map.

Blockchain: Finally, Life Begins Outside Cryptocurrency

Until a couple of years back, the terms ‘cryptocurrency’ and ‘blockchain’ commonly appeared together in the same bracket, at least amongst people who are not very familiar with the technology. But as tech companies became more aware of blockchain’s versatility, it became clear that cryptocurrency is one of the many subsets of this disruptive technology. Soon, the hype around blockchain gathered momentum and led to the emergence of several best-case uses of the technology other than cryptocurrency.

At present, blockchain has become a buzzword in not just high tech but any industry that leverages software for data management.

Let’s take a closer look at what blockchain exactly is and how its applications have moved far beyond cryptocurrency.

What exactly is blockchain?

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Blockchain (sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology) is a decentralized database of digital assets. It is a distributed ledger that stores and records the history of a digital asset (data) by using decentralization and cryptographic hashing. To put it in simpler words, blockchain is a shared database consisting of blocks of data chained together sequentially as the single-source-of-truth for the information.

Blockchain is composed of three important concepts: blocks, miners, and nodes. Blocks are chunks of data tied together in an irreversible chain. Miners play the role of adding new blocks on the chain. And nodes are any electronic device with shared access to the blockchain, keeping the network functioning.

It is important to note that in blockchain the data is not transferred from one user to another. Instead, it is distributed among all the nodes (devices), thereby creating an immutable record of a digital asset. This decentralization of data creates a secured transparent system where all the parties involved get full real-time access to the data.

Blockchain applications and use cases beyond cryptocurrency

The popularity of cryptocurrency pushed blockchain to become one of the most coveted technologies. Today, blockchain has expanded its roots into various commercial domains and its applications are only multiplying by the day.

Statista reports that the global blockchain market is expected to reach a whopping $39 billion by 2025. As of 2020, it’s the finance sector that leads the way, accounting for 60% of blockchain’s global market value. However, other industries are rapidly catching up in employing blockchain to reap its benefits. One such example is that of the manufacturing sector which accounts for 17.6% of the share.

While the list of different blockchain applications is a ‘blockchain’ in itself, we’ll take a look at its major large-scale applications below.

Blockchain in FinTech: Cross-border transactions and trade finance

Providing frictionless cross-border transactions is an increasingly common application of blockchain in the financial services industry.

The advanced security and transparency in blockchain make it possible for users to transfer funds globally without having to rely on intermediaries too much. Ripple is a great example of how a company can leverage blockchain to offer a decentralized infrastructure for instant cross-border payments.

Blockchain is also exceptionally useful to reduce the risks of fraudulent activities in the trade finance ecosystem. By enabling transparent governance and reducing the complexities involved in the transactions, blockchain unlocks new opportunities for both the banks as well as the customers.

IBM has already rolled out a blockchain-based trade finance solution that has been helping banks not only automate approval processes and trading cycles but also extend services to smaller businesses that are new to the market.

Blockchain in Healthcare: Patient data management and security

Because of the decentralized and immutable storage of data in blockchain technology, any patient data recorded on it becomes impossible to hack. Moreover, transparency in blockchain also ensures that any changes in the data are always visible and trackable. Thus, blockchain in healthcare can ensure nobody tampers with patient data.

Companies like BurstIQ and Medicalchain offer blockchain-based solutions that not only empower patients to have complete control over their medical data but also help healthcare organizations to securely store, manage, and share patients’ medical information.

Blockchain in Public Sector: Ensuring legitimate voting

Among the wide applications of blockchain in the public sector, the most notable one is its use for fair elections. Illegitimate voting, counting errors, and vote tampering are common issues that many major democracies in the world currently face.

A blockchain-based voting mechanism can eliminate all of these issues by ensuring authentic voter registration, secure record-keeping of the votes, and accurate counting free from any human errors. FollowMyVote, a blockchain voting startup, has created an incredible solution that can aid the US to conduct fair elections. Citizens can simply install the software on their device, register an account by identity verification, and cast their vote. Once they have cast the vote, they can also verify that their vote has been recorded as intended.

Considering the potential benefits of blockchain technology, it’s likely going to be used for building the fundamental voting infrastructure in the future.

Blockchain in Supply Chain Management: Transparency and traceability

Traditionally, supply chains employ paper-based data systems to keep track of and trace all the product inventory and transactions. But the scattered nature of such data makes information sharing a lot more complex and inefficient among its stakeholders. This lack of transparency and traceability eventually raises issues like visibility gaps, counterfeiting, and compliance violations.

Blockchain-based supply chain solutions offer a unified view of the data while also allowing the stakeholders to discreetly verify transactions. The technology can be used to design applications that immutably and cryptographically record all transactions in a supply chain. In essence, all the parties involved can access required information on a shared ledger where no single party is the owner, thus bridging the transparency and traceability gap.

With blockchain integration, supply chain companies can record production updates with utmost data visibility. Since all the data on a blockchain system is updated in real-time, companies can also track production status and location at any given time, and share the data with customers for product authenticity.

Blockchain in Cybersecurity: Identity management

The IoT technology has revolutionized how businesses and the teams within communicate with each other. But as the number of users (and devices) grows, IT departments often struggle with user authentication and providing shared access to critical business applications. This calls for an identity management system that’s both trustworthy and liable.

Blockchain enables IT departments to develop sophisticated identity management systems based on decentralized identifiers. Meaning, digital IDs can be created for users as well as endpoints which are then secured owing to the reliability of private/public-key cryptography. While the private key facilitates data decryption, the public key can be freely distributed for user or device authentication.

Additionally, the immutable nature of blockchain technology makes these systems highly secure as all the data is tamper-proof. Also, decentralization of data allows users to get ownership of their identity and transfer it as they desire.

The Bottom Line

The advent of cryptocurrency introduced blockchain as a game-changing technology. However, the technology caught the eye of investors outside the purview of the finance sector and quickly grew in popularity. Recognizing its extraordinary benefits, brands across all walks of commerce are now investing heavily into blockchain in a bid to improve and secure their businesses worldwide.
If you are a business that wants to explore the viability of blockchain for a specific use case, our tech specialists are happy to offer you a free consultation. Just let us know your concerns here and we will help you understand how to make the most of this brilliant technology for your business efficiency.