Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34654686›Full record

SynthesisThe Lancet. Digital health2021

Blockchain applications in health care for COVID-19 and beyond: a systematic review.

Wei Yan Ng, Tien-En Tan, Prasanth V H Movva, Andrew Hao Sen Fang, Khung-Keong Yeo, Dean Ho, Fuji Shyy San Foo, Zhe Xiao, Kai Sun, Tien Yin Wong and 2 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Lancet. Digital health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  13. Reflections about Blockchain in Health Data Sharing: Navigating a Disruptive Technology.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Wei Yan NgSingapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Tien-En TanSingapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Prasanth V H MovvaCertis Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation Security, Singapore.
Andrew Hao Sen FangDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore; SingHealth Polyclinics, Singapore.
Khung-Keong YeoDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore.
Dean HoInstitute for Digital Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Fuji Shyy San FooCertis Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation Security, Singapore.
Zhe XiaoInstitute of High Performance Computing, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.
Kai SunData Science Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Tien Yin WongSingapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Alex Tiong-Heng SiaDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore; KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Daniel Shu Wei TingSingapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: daniel.ting.s.w@singhealth.com.sg.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial and global impact on health care, and has greatly accelerated the adoption of digital technology. One of these emerging digital technologies, blockchain, has unique characteristics (eg, immutability, decentralisation, and transparency) that can be useful in multiple domains (eg, management of electronic medical records and access rights, and mobile health). We conducted a systematic review of COVID-19-related and non-COVID-19-related applications of blockchain in health care. We identified relevant reports published in MEDLINE, SpringerLink, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore, ScienceDirect, arXiv, and Google Scholar up to July 29, 2021. Articles that included both clinical and technical designs, with or without prototype development, were included. A total of 85 375 articles were evaluated, with 415 full length reports (37 related to COVID-19 and 378 not related to COVID-19) eventually included in the final analysis. The main COVID-19-related applications reported were pandemic control and surveillance, immunity or vaccine passport monitoring, and contact tracing. The top three non-COVID-19-related applications were management of electronic medical records, internet of things (eg, remote monitoring or mobile health), and supply chain monitoring. Most reports detailed technical performance of the blockchain prototype platforms (277 [66·7%] of 415), whereas nine (2·2%) studies showed real-world clinical application and adoption. The remaining studies (129 [31·1%] of 415) were themselves of a technical design only. The most common platforms used were Ethereum and Hyperledger. Blockchain technology has numerous potential COVID-19-related and non-COVID-19-related applications in health care. However, much of the current research remains at the technical stage, with few providing actual clinical applications, highlighting the need to translate foundational blockchain technology into clinical use.

Indexed as

BlockchainCOVID-19Delivery of Health CareTechnologyDigital TechnologyElectronic Health RecordsHumansPandemicsPublic HealthSARS-CoV-2Telemedicine

Identifiers

PMID34654686
PMCPMC8510632

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.