Blockchain Technology in Healthcare, Logistics, and Transportation: An Investigation of Applications, Frameworks and Challenges

Faculty of Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, 519088 Zhuhai, China

^* Corresponding author: s230026220@mail.uic.edu.cn

Abstract

Today, blockchain technology is no longer confined to the financial sector for which it was originally designed, but has been integrated across diverse fields, achieving noteworthy advancements. Researchers have endeavored to demonstrate the feasibility and potential of blockchain applications beyond finance. This paper introduces the characteristics and workflow of blockchain technology. It provides an overview of the current state of blockchain applications in healthcare, logistics management, and transportation, analyzing several specific examples and presenting their corresponding simplified frameworks. These frameworks are conductive to traditional sectors by offering additional functionalities. In healthcare, blockchain is utilized to enhance the security and integrity of the sensitive health data records, as well as to facilitate remote patient monitoring. In logistics management, blockchain is employed to effectively enhance data security and ensure cold chain traceability, thereby improving the transparency and reliability of supply chain operations. In transportation, blockchain supports the development of intelligent transportation systems. Due to the inherent limitations of blockchain technology, such as issues with scalability, and the specific deficiencies of certain proposed frameworks, including the inaccuracies of Body Area Sensor Networks (BSN) and the drawbacks associated with Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) encryption, these integration efforts continue to face challenges. Various approaches, such as sharding, have been proposed to address these drawbacks and improve the efficacy of blockchain implementations in these domains. Despite these challenges, the ongoing research and development efforts indicate a promising future for blockchain technology in a wide array of applications.