BLOCKCHAIN WILL HEAL THE NIGERIAN HEALTH SECTOR ;
To create a patient-centered care system, the patient must be considered in every part of preparation. Such that medical equipment, facilities and human capacity are sourced with the intent to satisfy and care for the patient’s needs. Convenience, ease of access, compatibility, safety, transparency etc. are the important building blocks to patient satisfaction. When a caregiver provides services and products that meet patient’s need, it builds patient trust in that brand.
The Nigerian Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said that Nigerians spend about $2bn annually to seek medical care abroad on the average. The greatest damage is to the image of Nigeria healthcare delivery system and there is a need for improvement on the inadequacy.
Transparency builds trust, and trust builds growth.
Trust is one the most important requirement of a caregiver. If a patient or health consumer loses trust or faith in the services of a medi caregiver; maybe due to maladministration of care like wrong pill prescription or a substandard health product, the result can be very severe and sometimes irredeemable.
The reason people patronise specific brand, foreign countries and popular producers of services is trust. Trust in the ability that caregiver will not fail in their promise to give care. And this trust is built over a period of successful delivery of care. Every stakeholder in the health industry consciously strives to climb high on customer trust-o-meter.
One technology that can be trusted for trust is the blockchain. It is a ledger that stores information permanently and securely. It gives access to everyone to confirm the information stored promptly and securely.
In Nigeria, Blockchain is needed to enable a system where government budgeted funds are utilised appropriately for medical projects, equity is generated from transparent crowdfunding, researched data is not manipulated or misplaced, patient diagnostic history can be assessed easily and securely, Private sector services are transparent and safe, efficient health insurance etc.
Let’s get real…
Scenario 1. A patient will choose a drug brand that can be verified as authentic over other brands especially when that verification is not corruptible. Therefore, a pharmaceutical company that uses the blockchain to store production data and supply chain record will have an edge over other brands. A medical facility that obtains equipment and drugs from transparent manufacturers will be favored and trusted.
Scenario 2. Imagine if patients’ medical history is stored securely electronically and this information can be accessed when needed by medical personnel. The patient will have the power to restrict or grant outright access. In case of emergency, an unconscious patient’s basic important medical history can be viewed by medical personnel. This will reduce mortality rate.
Scenario 3. Medical record keeping is very vital and whatever care administered in a hospital or clinic will be tamper-proof and secure on a blockchain ledger. Medical personnel who mismanaged patient health have been known to escape prosecution due to lack of evidence.
Scenario 4. Certificate verification is another aspect where trust is needed. If medical certification records are stored on the blockchain and are verifiable online by anyone, it makes the consumer of medi-care feel safe.
Scenario 5. Investor trust will be restored when there is transparency in appropriation of funds. Hence, more venture capital is made available to develop standardised medical facilities. Imagine a tamper-proof donation network that will allow donors to monitor where and how their donation is being utilized.
SMART MEDI-CARE is patient-centered (Internet Of Health Things)- IoHT
Quality medical care will not be patient-centered without technology advanced approaches. The smarter the facilities, the better the care. That is why the Internet of Things (IoT) in health is one of the most useful tools of the 4th industrial revolution (41R) alongside the blockchain.
When trust meets efficiency, mediocrity has no place to stay. IoHT is helping to improve remote patient monitoring, location and condition of pharmaceutical products throughout the supply chain process. One of the most common use case is the IoT wearable like wrist wears that monitor heart rate, blood pressure etc.
Blockchain and IoT synergy is a powerful union because data obtained needs to be made secure and tamper-proof therefore, blockchain-IoT use cases focus on securing the data obtained through the use of IoT.
Blockchain Use cases in Health
One of the most notable blockchain use cases in Africa is the Ugandan project set to deploy MediConnect’s Blockchain Platform for Tracing Fake Drugs- https://cointelegraph.com/news/uganda-to-deploy-mediconnects-blockchain-platform-for-tracing-fake-drugs.
Medicare in Brazil is taking a giant leap with blockchain solution by decentralising Brazillian medical records- https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrynpollock/2019/04/26/brazilian-medical-records-getting-blockchain-boost-may-be-the-route-to-digital-identity-adoption/
