Identifying and Ranking Uses of Blockchain Technology in Healthcare

Blockchain can be defined as a distributed and immutable digital ledger that provides data transparency and user privacy. According to the applications of blockchain, the conducting each application needs planning and cost management. In so doing, this study endeavored to identify and rank applications of blockchain technology in healthcare.

This descriptive study was done in the winter semester of the academic year 2020. In the first phase, applications of blockchain in healthcare were recognized from library resources by qualitative content analysis and in the next phase, applications of technology were prioritized by a panel of experts with 17 members. Then, we used fuzzy SWARA method for ranking applications of blockchain in healthcare.

The results revealed that electronic health records (0.43), smart contracts (0.21), internet of things infrastructure (0.15), information security and privacy (0.08), administrative management (0.06) and electronic voting (0.04) are the important applications of blockchain in healthcare.

Finding of this study showed blockchain technology has important applications in healthcare electronic health records and smart contracts. Therefore, health system policymakers should provide infrastructure for blockchain technology implementation between medical and health organizations. This study can contribute to the research in the blockchain and enrich the literature on the application of blockchain in healthcare