A Review on Block Chain Technology in Healthcare: Assessing Its Impact on Pharmacovigilance and Drug Tracking

Abstract

Blockchain technology is changing the face of several industries, but in health care, it is proving to be a critical tool to improve prescription drug tracking and pharmacovigilance. Prescription drug counterfeiting and safety monitoring pose significant global challenges that result in patient harm and economic losses. Blockchain offers enhanced transparency, traceability, and integrity through its decentralized, immutable ledger system,which is essential for secure drug tracking from manufacturing to end-user. This review considers whether blockchain can overcome the inadequacies of current pharmaceutical tracking systems and applications in pharmacovigilance, particularly in the context of real-time adverse event reporting. Blockchain will enable the safe sharing of patient and drug information among healthcare entities protected by privacy; this is a significant advantage for activities in pharmacovigilance. In blockchain, smart contracts may be used to automate compliance and reporting processes to ensure adherence to regulations. These are the standardization of data input, energy consumption, and legal and ethical issues in pharmaceutical supply chains. These barriers could be addressed through policy innovation and cross-sector collaboration to bring out the true potential of blockchain. The study shows that even with its limitations, the realistic solution in pharmaceutical tracking and safety monitoring is blockchain. It aggregates evidence from sundry studies that could interest healthcare policymakers, technology developers, and pharmaceutical stakeholders in leveraging blockchain technology to foster a safer and more efficient healthcare system.