New Kids On The Block(chain)

After years spent in the shadow of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology is finally coming into its own.


  1. Electronic health records
  2. By serving as a permanent ‘journal’ of every interaction a patient has had with his or her doctor, blockchain based electronic health records could help ensure that the appropriate treatment is administered based on a holistic view of a patient’s medical status.

    Moreover, being a digital and decentralized database, the data can be shared between hospitals and even across geographical boundaries. Patients can therefore switch clinics at ease in their search for optimal healthcare, while health authorities and hospitals can tap on the repository of health records to learn more about diseases and patient behaviors.



  3. Pharmaceutical supply chains
  4. The pharmaceutical industry has long grappled with the problem of illegitimate drugs slipping into the supply chain and ending up in the hands of unsuspecting consumers. Hence, there is a need for better traceability of drugs from site of manufacture to point of purchase.

    Blockchain technology, coupled with other track-and-trace methods such as radio frequency identification (RFID), are being deployed to grant greater visibility to drug shipments at every step along the pharmaceutical supply chain. Should there be any discrepancies between dispatch and delivery for the shipment, it can easily be singled out for investigation, or recalled.


  5. Land titling
  6. In the modern world, the roof over one’s head is not simply a refuge from natural elements; it is also a store of financial value because of the land it occupies. Land registries function as an official repository of land titles, but the complexities associated with properties changing hands over the years can create an intractable mess of and ownership.

    Enter the blockchain, which guarantees that every transaction of land is chronicled and verified as true. The transparency afforded by public blockchain networks also means that no corrupt official can alter land titles and strip an individual of land ownership rights.


  7. Identity
  8. Losing your passport in a foreign land leaves you nameless and stateless, at least until a replacement can be made. Refugees are worse off—having been forced out of their own countries, they can no longer access any of their personal records for the foreseeable future.

    Personal identities that are private, portable and persistent can be created and stored on blockchains. Such identities are exclusively accessible to their owners from anywhere, at any time, and cannot be revoked or deleted. Combining blockchains with biometrics further ensures that blockchain IDs are secure and inseparable from the individuals they represent.


  9. Cybersecurity
  10. Although traditional cybersecurity protocols do a valiant job of ensuring secure interactions on the internet, the weakest link is the reliance on a centralized authority to issue, manage and store secure sockets layer (SSL) certificates that are used for the authentication of online identity. Like putting all the eggs in one basket, the existing system represents a single point of attack that is frequently exploited by hackers.

    To overcome this vulnerability, SSL certificates can be placed on blockchains instead. The decentralized nature of blockchain technology means that hackers will be unable to illicitly modify or falsify identities, thus preventing them from stealing data.


  11. Education
  12. Human capital is a valuable resource in today’s global and competitive business environment. Because a person’s credentials are often used by employers to evaluate competence and suitability for a particular role, forgers have created fake education certificates which enable unscrupulous individuals to hijack this hiring practice.

    Institutes of higher learning have thus begun issuing their certificates on blockchains. Cryptographic proof is provided alongside a timestamp of when the educational qualification was conferred, thereby eliminating the possibility of doctored documents. The digital representation of a physical certificate also serves as a backup copy that cannot be misplaced or destroyed.

    Click here for a PDF summary of the article.


    This article was first published in the January 2018 print version of Asian Scientist Magazine. Click here to subscribe to Asian Scientist Magazine in print.

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    Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine.
    Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

    To read more, subscribe to Asian Scientist Magazine in print.

Jeremy received his PhD from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he studied the role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression.

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