Securing Drug Distribution Systems from Tampering Using Blockchain

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to overcome coordination flaws and enhance end-to-end security in the drug distribution market (DDM). One of the major issues in drug market coordination management is the absence of a centralized monitoring system to provide adequate market control and offer real-time prices, availability, and authentication data. Further, tampering is another serious issue affecting the DDM, and as a consequence, there is a significant global market for counterfeit drugs. This vast counterfeit drug business presents a security risk to the distribution system. This study presents a blockchain-based solution to challenges such as coordination failure, secure drug delivery, and pharmaceutical authenticity. To optimize the drug distribution process (DDP), a framework for drug distribution is presented. The proposed framework is evaluated using mathematical modeling and a real-life case study. According to our results, the proposed technique helps to maintain market equilibrium by guaranteeing that there is adequate demand while maintaining supply. Using the suggested framework, massive data created by the medication supply chain would be appropriately handled, allowing market forces to be better regulated and no manufactured shortages to inflate medicine prices. The proposed framework calls for the Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) to authenticate users on blockchain and to monitor end-to-end DDP. Using the proposed framework, big data generated through drug supply chain will be properly managed; thus, market forces will be better controlled, and no artificial shortages will be generated to raise drug costs.

Blockchain for the Healthcare Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review

“…For this reason, an energy-consuming solution, such as a public blockchain, may not be the best choice when dealing with SCHMs. Our analysis shows that the scalability issue is not a prerogative of public blockchain alone, given that even studies investigating private, consortium, or hybrid blockchains did not explore scalability [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]39,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48]50,52,[54][55][56][57] and, in one case, failed to achieve it [30]. In the article published by Singh et al [38], scalability issues were solved thanks to the Raft consensus.…”

A Hybrid Framework of Blockchain and IoT Technology in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comprehensive Study

“…Smart contract helps set the condition of easy transfer and purchase of the product when all the conditions are fulflled; if not fulflled, they do not go through. Humayun et al [45] identifed coordination faws in the drug distribution market (DDM), coordination management, and lack of a centralized surveillance system capable of providing efective market management and providing real-time pricing, accessibility, and authentication data, as serious issues that signifcantly afect the global market for counterfeit drugs.…”

Advancing Emergency Supplies Management: A Blockchain‐Based Traceability System for Cold‐Chain Medicine Logistics

“…[5,6] Furthermore, regional imbalances, uneven industry growth, and limited technological capabilities in the pharmaceutical cold-chain transportation sector have further exacerbated the risk of medication quality abnormalities, posing potential societal security concerns. [7] Thanks to the widespread adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, traditional traceability mechanisms have found some application in the field of cold-chain medicine, alleviating the aforementioned issues. [8,9] However, on one hand, data in traditional traceability mechanisms is controlled by individual entities, leading to a lack of interoperability among data from different stakeholders, posing a significant risk of data tampering and leakage, resulting in incomplete and inaccurate data.…”

“…[ 5,6 ] Furthermore, regional imbalances, uneven industry growth, and limited technological capabilities in the pharmaceutical cold‐chain transportation sector have further exacerbated the risk of medication quality abnormalities, posing potential societal security concerns. [ 7 ]…”