Health 4.0: Blockchain Applications in Healthcare

Year 2021, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 69 - 76, 31.12.2021

İbrahim Kaya Sercan Demir

Abstract

During the last decades, the advancement in industrial technology manifested itself in the concept of Industry 4.0, which incorporates digitization, smart automation technologies, the Internet of things, self-monitoring, and optimizing machines. Health science, one of the most interdisciplinary fields, with its sub-disciplines, constitutes a platform open to novel technologies from various fields such as pure science, engineering, and management. One of the fields transformed by Industry 4.0 is healthcare. An umbrella term “Health 4.0” is derived to cover all the recent technology advancements in the health field. Some of these advancements are the Internet of Things (IoT), Internet of Services (IoS), Medical Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Health Cloud, Health Fog, Health Big Data Analytics, Mobile Communication Networks, and Blockchain Technologies. Health 3.0 focused on the patients, communication, and monitoring of patients using new technologies like smart sensors, wearable devices, and big data. Health 4.0 added real-time monitoring, prediction, and AI-supported diagnostics to Health 3.0. The main objective of Health 4.0 is to provide high-quality healthcare services, improved efficiency and effectiveness, and optimization of the costs and resources. Blockchain technology offers a promising solution for healthcare data management with exceptional features such as decentralization, enhanced security, and immutability. However, the potential of blockchain technology has not been investigated in detail. This paper examines the prominent blockchain applications and challenges in Health 4.0 and its impact on the health industry.

Keywords

Blockchain Technology, Health 4.0, Industry 4.0, IoT, Medical Cyber-Physical Systems

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