How The Pharmaceutical Industry Is Using Blockchain

blockchain

There are a few industries that have quickly adapted to new technologies like the cloud and blockchain.

One of them is the pharmaceutical industry. The security of the blockchain is very attractive to the pharmaceutical industry since it relies on security like few other industries do.

The nature of using a ledger that can’t be manipulated is at the heart of the blockchain technology that makes it so useful for the pharmaceutical industry.

Since the blockchain resides on thousands of computers, each transaction is sealed in a block that can’t be hacked. To make any changes, a hacker would have to hack into each of the computers where the chain is located and change it individually. In other words, impossible.

In this article, we will go over some of the ways the blockchain is helping the pharmaceutical industry.

Secure documents

Sending sensitive documents securely has been a bugaboo for companies since the internet was created. The cloud has helped solve some of the problems and the best online fax service can send documents more securely than using email.

Yet, the nature of the blockchain makes it the best choice for storing data and sending documents. With ledgers that register every transaction and can’t be changed, there is far less chance of a cybercrime being committed.

Supply chain logistics

Every step of the process of a pharmaceutical from the research and development to the shipping requires a great deal of scrutiny and visibility.

Incompatible computer software and a lack of visibility in shipping leads to a lot of headaches.

These headaches can be erased by using the blockchain since the ledger is totally transparent and visible from every step of the way. It doesn’t matter what kind of computer system is used either. The blockchain works across any number of platforms.

Since the blockchain is decentralized, many middle men that insert themselves into the process can be eliminated. This saves a lot of time and even more money.

Drug safety

Even how the drugs are manufactured is being disrupted by the blockchain. The process of traceability from compound centers to other parts of the supply chain are more traceable.

This makes the manufacturing process more transparent and the traceability can prevent many deaths by administering the wrong prescriptions. The supply chain leading to the point of manufacture is transparent so there is nothing that gets lost in translation when the drug is made.

Clinical trial management

Managing all the different studies of clinical trials for the drugs a pharmaceutical company has is a logistical nightmare. The data is complex and the need for accurate results, the blockchain is the obvious choice to manage this system.

The digital and immutable ledger is able to identify and validate many of the different phases of the studies in greater detail than ever before.

Conclusion

The most obvious area that the blockchain is disrupting is the finance sector. As things stand now, there may be far more cases generated within the pharmaceutical industry.

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