Assessment of Blockchain Technology in the Improvement of Supply Chain Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract: Blockchain technology has drawn a lot of interest in the healthcare industry in recent years. Efficient data management is crucial for pharmacies. Blockchain technology is a novel technology that has the potential to make many pharmaceutical processes safer and more transparent. In 2013, the US Congress created the Drug Supply Chain Security Act DSCSA to prevent the distribution of stolen, contaminated, or counterfeit drugs. Blockchain technology serves as an answer to this problem as it enables the tracking and tracing the product from manufacturer to patient through an electronic, immutable, digitized tracking record of all steps from inventory to consumer in the drug supply chain. To ensure the safety of a peer-to-peer network of transactions, blockchain technology employs cryptographic methods to create a distributed ledger that is not centralized. Incorporating it into a product ensures its safety and marketability. Blockchain technology offers solutions to enhance the validity, reliability, and efficiency of medication manufacturing by facilitating easy compliance with legislation. Additionally, it offers an opportunity to address a major problem: the proliferation of counterfeit drugs that enter the system and ultimately reach consumers. The pharmaceutical industry's deficient supply chain management results in counterfeit and fake drug entering the supply chain and negatively affecting patients’ health, leading to serious complications or even death. Supply chain management may benefit from blockchain technology's transparency and immutability at every step of the process, which increases confidence, security, traceability, and transparency. Blockchain technology, designed to manage electronic data, holds promise for enhancing clarity. Every user of a computer network has access to the same immutable record of transactions known as a blockchain.