Revolutionizing Healthcare Supply Chains: The Synergistic Power of IoT and Blockchain

Abstract

In spite of dramatic advances in healthcare informatics and management, little yet has been done to eliminate supply chain related problems. The product recalls, supply shortage monitoring and management, preventive expiration date management, and counterfeit product detection are essential healthcare supply chain activities that are also deeply affected. Because of the fragmented structure of healthcare supply chains, it is difficult to implement these operations securely, efficiently, globally accessible, and traceably, and are prone for systemic mistakes and redundancies. This can result in patient safety issues as well as negative health outcomes. The conjunction of blockchain technology and Internet of Things (IoT) provides a feasible way to deal with these problems. IoT empowered blockchain solutions provide a safe, decentralised peer to peer ledger for monitoring and tracing products. In this study, there is a study of how the healthcare supply chain faces imminent and significant challenges, and how IoT blockchain technology could help solve these challenges in the present and near future