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\begin{document}
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\title{Why Blockchain Technology is Important for Healthcare
Professionals}



\author[1]{Thomas F Heston}%
\affil[1]{Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, Washington USA}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{April 22, 2026}


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\begin{abstract}
Blockchain technology is a system of creating an immutable, secure,
distributed database of transactions. Blockchains were initially created
to provide a distributed ledger of financial transactions that did not
rely upon a central bank, credit company, or other financial
institution. The technological breakthrough, however, has been extended
to transactions involving legal matters, medical records, insurance
billing, and smart contracts. One primary way that blockchain technology
is important to healthcare professionals in that it can revolutionize
medical database interoperability. This greater interoperability can
help improve access to medical records, imaging archives, prescription
databases. Given that a patient's medical history is a primary
cornerstone of good medicine, blockchain technology has the potential to
dramatically improve medical care.%
\end{abstract}%



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\textbf{Introduction}

Blockchain technology is a system of ensuring a secure, tamper-proof,
and permanent record of transactions. The fundamental idea of a
distributed secure ledger was invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto
{[}1{]}. Initially, the technology created bitcoin, which verifies
financial transactions without the requirement for a central authority,
the federal reserve, a central bank, or other financial institution.
Because the method of transaction verification involves a network of
computers, rather than a single computer, it is very fault-tolerant. Any
single computer can be added or removed from the network at any time
without corrupting the ledger of transactions. Because the ledger is
duplicated across all network computers, transactions are secure and
immutable. A key feature of blockchain technology is that it is
trust-less: transactions are processed by the network so there is no
need to trust a single computer, database, or institution. The initial
blockchain created bitcoin, which consists of a secure, immutable,
distributed database of financial transactions. However, the technology
has also been extended to create a system of secure, immutable,
distributed computer programs allowing the creation of smart contracts
and artificial intelligence {[}2{]}.

\par\null

\textbf{Interoperability}

Interoperability is the ability to work together in an oganized manner.
Applied to electronic medical records, interoperability means the
ability of large computer databases containing patient information to
effectively communicate with each other and ultimately communicate the
data to healthcare providers quickly in a meaningful way {[}3{]}.

Even though the Internet has been has been transmitting data around the
world for almost 50 years now, critically important medical data remains
for the most part hidden away tightly in silos, run by hospitals,
clinics, and insurance companies. This tight lock on patient records
means that even when going a short distance within the same town it is
difficult to access medical records from a different clinic. Although
the clinic is in the same city, the silo housing medical records is just
as isolated as if it was located thousands of miles away. These silos
effectively control medical records, instead of the patient controlling
their own medical records {[}4{]}. Because of the hassle of transferring
medical records, many patients will stay within a single healthcare
system for the sole reason that their medical records are housed within
that system.

\par\null

\textbf{Case Study}

One of the biggest challenges in medicine is inaccessible medical
records for acutely ill patients unable to verbalize or recall their
personal information. For example, a patient was admitted from the
emergency room because of an acute respiratory failure. He could not
verbalize his medical history, because all of his focus and efforts were
upon getting enough air. In terms of his medical history, his medical
team was flying blind.

The patient was a 48 year old long haul truck driver from out of town.
No family was at the bedside and no medical records were available. What
medications was he on? What allergies did he have? Given all of the
unknowns, the patient received the generic, one size fits all treatment
for acute hypoxic respiratory failure.

Over the next several hours, his heart rate gradually increased into the
130's. Most likely, he was developing sepsis from an acute infection
which was the cause of his initial breathing difficulties. In response,
he was given antibiotics and intravenous fluids, again the generic
treatment for what was the most likely cause of his condition. But it
turns out his symptoms were due to something else entirely, that would
not have been missed if old medical records had been available.

The patient just had a severe exacerbation of his chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease. He didn't have sepsis at all. His increased heart
rate was due to beta blocker withdrawal from not getting his routine
nightly dose of metoprolol. He was eventually discharged from the
hospital in good condition, back at his baseline. His hospitalization,
however, was prolonged by a full day and he received unnecessary
antibiotics all because nobody knew he was on a beta blocker. His old
medical records were in Oklahoma, locked up safe and secure in an
electronic database. We, however, were in Oregon. While his medical
records were secure in Oklahoma, they were not useful. His home clinic's
database had no interoperability with the clinical database at the
hospital in Oregon. The result was not fatal, however, his
hospitalization was prolonged and his diagnosis delayed due to poor
computer database to computer database communication.

\par\null

\textbf{Future Directions}

The next major advance in medical records is not going to be a new
software program that runs on a database isolated within a single
healthcare organization. The next advance will be the creation of a
distributed ledger which will effectively transfer control of patient
records from the healthcare organization to the individual. When medical
records become as freely mobile as people, we will have made a
tremendous leap forward in medicine. Blockchain technology is the key
scientific breakthrough enabling this major step forward.

The process of making the medical records of individuals readily
accessible requires the use of distributed databases stored on the cloud
in a secure yet open manner. The records must be secure, immutable, and
at the same time easily accessible. Blockchain technology is the vehicle
that makes all of these goals possible {[}5{]}.~

\textbf{Bibliography}

1. Nakamoto S (2008) Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System~ .

2. Buterin V (2015) Visions, Part 1: The Value of Blockchain Technology.
In: Ethereum Blog.
\url{https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/04/13/visions-part-1-the-value-of-blockchain-technology/}.
Accessed 13 Jul 2017

3. Brodersen C, Kalis B, Leong C, et al. (2016) Blockchain: Securing a
New Health Interoperability Experience.

4. Mandl KD, Kohane IS (2012) Escaping the EHR trap--the future of
health IT. N Engl J Med 366:2240--2242. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1203102

5. Krawiec RJ, Housman D, White M, et al. (2016) Blockchain:
Opportunities for Health Care.

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