A Comprehensive Evaluation Method for the Effectiveness of Public Health-Oriented Music Performance Art Based on Blockchain Technology.

Music can promote the development of physical and mental health, and its therapeutic utility has begun to receive widespread attention from scholars, who have systematically studied the therapeutic methods, processes, and utility of music with the theme of music therapy, and the topic has been extended from music therapy at the individual level to the public health domain. Therefore, it is worthwhile to further explore how the effectiveness of music as a performing arts activity in the public health domain is evaluated. However, most of the current studies focus on the evaluation of the effects of music on individual physical and mental health, and few involve the evaluation of music performing arts activities in the public health domain, which greatly hinders the potential of music performing arts applications in the public health domain. Therefore, this study proposes a dynamic and comprehensive evaluation scheme based on the cross-chain technology in blockchain and establishes a cross-chain-based information exchange model for the feasibility of information exchange between music performing arts and public health. The research findings can not only provide theoretical guidance for the formulation of public health policies but also provide technical support for the comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of music performing arts activities.

Blockchain Token-Based Wild-Simulated Ginseng Quality Management Method.

Countries require measures to prevent food fraud, such as forgery of certificates or content change during production, which can occur throughout the supply chain, even if they have a certification system for quality food management. Therefore, there are recent cases of the introduction of blockchain tokens for quality and supply chain management; however, there are difficulties in introducing tokens in food fields, such as forest and agricultural products. To introduce tokens in the food sector, we selected wild-simulated ginseng, subject to quality management in Korea, analyzed the quality management process of wild-simulated ginseng, and selected the target for blockchain token introduction. We then identified potential token-related issues from consumers and suggested possible solutions.

Re-engineering a Clinical Trial Management System Using Blockchain Technology: System Design, Development, and Case Studies.

BACKGROUND: A clinical trial management system (CTMS) is a suite of specialized productivity tools that manage clinical trial processes from study planning to closeout. Using CTMSs has shown remarkable benefits in delivering efficient, auditable, and visualizable clinical trials. However, the current CTMS market is fragmented, and most CTMSs fail to meet expectations because of their inability to support key functions, such as inconsistencies in data captured across multiple sites. Blockchain technology, an emerging distributed ledger technology, is considered to potentially provide a holistic solution to current CTMS challenges by using its unique features, such as transparency, traceability, immutability, and security. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to re-engineer the traditional CTMS by leveraging the unique properties of blockchain technology to create a secure, auditable, efficient, and generalizable CTMS. METHODS: A comprehensive, blockchain-based CTMS that spans all stages of clinical trials, including a sharable trial master file system; a fast recruitment and simplified enrollment system; a timely, secure, and consistent electronic data capture system; a reproducible data analytics system; and an efficient, traceable payment and reimbursement system, was designed and implemented using the Quorum blockchain. Compared with traditional blockchain technologies, such as Ethereum, Quorum blockchain offers higher transaction throughput and lowers transaction latency. Case studies on each application of the CTMS were conducted to assess the feasibility, scalability, stability, and efficiency of the proposed blockchain-based CTMS. RESULTS: A total of 21.6 million electronic data capture transactions were generated and successfully processed through blockchain, with an average of 335.4 transactions per second. Of the 6000 patients, 1145 were matched in 1.39 seconds using 10 recruitment criteria with an automated matching mechanism implemented by the smart contract. Key features, such as immutability, traceability, and stability, were also tested and empirically proven through case studies. CONCLUSIONS: This study proposed a comprehensive blockchain-based CTMS that covers all stages of the clinical trial process. Compared with our previous research, the proposed system showed an overall better performance. Our system design, implementation, and case studies demonstrated the potential of blockchain technology as a potential solution to CTMS challenges and its ability to perform more health care tasks.

Cybersecurity Risk Management Framework for Blockchain Identity Management Systems in Health IoT.

Blockchain (BC) has recently paved the way for developing Decentralized Identity Management (IdM) systems for different information systems. Researchers widely use it to develop decentralized IdM systems for the Health Internet of Things (HIoT). HIoT is considered a vulnerable system that produces and processes sensitive data. BC-based IdM systems have the potential to be more secure and privacy-aware than centralized IdM systems. However, many studies have shown potential security risks to using BC. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) conducted by the authors on BC-based IdM systems in HIoT systems showed a lack of comprehensive security and risk management frameworks for BC-based IdM systems in HIoT. Conducting a further SLR focusing on risk management and supplemented by Grey Literature (GL), in this paper, a security taxonomy, security framework, and cybersecurity risk management framework for the HIoT BC-IdM systems are identified and proposed. The cybersecurity risk management framework will significantly assist developers, researchers, and organizations in developing a secure BC-based IdM to ensure HIoT users' data privacy and security.

Integration of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Wearable Technology for Chronic Disease Management: A New Paradigm in Smart Healthcare.

Chronic diseases are a growing concern worldwide, with nearly 25% of adults suffering from one or more chronic health conditions, thus placing a heavy burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. With the advent of the "Smart Healthcare" era, a series of cutting-edge technologies has brought new experiences to the management of chronic diseases. Among them, smart wearable technology not only helps people pursue a healthier lifestyle but also provides a continuous flow of healthcare data for disease diagnosis and treatment by actively recording physiological parameters and tracking the metabolic state. However, how to organize and analyze the data to achieve the ultimate goal of improving chronic disease management, in terms of quality of life, patient outcomes, and privacy protection, is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide intelligent suggestions by analyzing a patient's physiological data from wearable devices for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In addition, blockchain can improve healthcare services by authorizing decentralized data sharing, protecting the privacy of users, providing data empowerment, and ensuring the reliability of data management. Integrating AI, blockchain, and wearable technology could optimize the existing chronic disease management models, with a shift from a hospital-centered model to a patient-centered one. In this paper, we conceptually demonstrate a patient-centric technical framework based on AI, blockchain, and wearable technology and further explore the application of these integrated technologies in chronic disease management. Finally, the shortcomings of this new paradigm and future research directions are also discussed.

PeTroShare: Blockchain-Managed, Logistics-Aware, Privacy-Friendly, Comparative, and Efficient Petroleum Transportation.

Crude oil is one of the critically needed resources. It is the main pillar supporting almost everything we rely on in daily life. Unfortunately, due to many factors, crude oil costs too much. Transportation is one of the critical factors that affect such costs. Due to many environmental risks attached to the transportation process, many countries added very high tariffs to cover any hazards during the transportation, loading, and unloading process. Logistics concerns and political conflicts are the other key factors that can massively impact the transportation cost. This paper presents an Industry 4.0-compliant PeTroShare (PTS), a blockchain-powered trustworthy, logistics-friendly, and cost-efficient crude oil trading platform. PTS is a novel ride-sharing platform that enables an anonymous exchange of crude oil between oil producers and customers, focusing mainly on the product quality, not the source of origin. In our scenario, floating crude oil tankers will hold the cargo to an intermediate position in the open ocean. PTS will match the product availability based on the location and the needed quality of the customer requests. Consequently, the time and distance travelled are minimized. Our simulation results show that enabling the anonymous sharing of crude oil products can significantly enhance system efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

A Traditional Chinese Medicine Traceability System Based on Lightweight Blockchain.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the problem of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) safety has attracted attention worldwide. To prevent the spread of counterfeit drugs, it is necessary to establish a drug traceability system. A traditional drug traceability system can record the whole circulation process of drugs, from planting, production, processing, and warehousing to use by hospitals and patients. Once counterfeit drugs are found, they can be traced back to the source. However, traditional drug traceability systems have some drawbacks, such as failure to prevent tampering and facilitation of sensitive disclosure. Blockchain (including Bitcoin and Ethernet Square) is an effective technology to address the problems of traditional drug traceability systems. However, some risks impact the reliability of blockchain, such as information explosion, sensitive information leakage, and poor scalability. OBJECTIVE: To avoid the risks associated with the application of blockchain, we propose a lightweight block chain framework. METHODS: In this framework, both horizontal and vertical segmentations are performed when designing the blocks, and effective strategies are provided for both segmentations. For horizontal segmentation operations, the header and body of the blockchain are separated and stored in the blockchain, and the body is stored in the InterPlanetary File System. For vertical segmentation operations, the blockchain is cut off according to time or size. For the addition of new blocks, miners only need to copy the latest part of the blockchain and append the tail and vertical segmentation of the block through the consensus mechanism. RESULTS: Our framework could greatly reduce the size of the blockchain and improve the verification efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Experimental results have shown that the efficiency improves compared with ethernet when a new block is added to the blockchain and a search is conducted.

[Design and development of quality traceability system for circulation of Chinese herbal medicine based on blockchain and NB-IOT].

The safety of traditional Chinese medicine is an important issue of people's livelihood in China. The traceability process on the quality of traditional Chinese medicine is characterized by long duration, many links, and complex circulation process of traditional Chinese medicine, so the establishment and improvement of traceability system is key to the modernized development of traditional Chinese medicine. The circulation traceability system of Chinese medicinal materials, as an important part of traceability system for Chinese traditional medicine, is built according to the GSP standard by using the block chain technology to ensure the security of information circulation and the low energy consumption of NB-IOT technology, build a safe and reliable system with wide coverage and low cost technology, and provide safe and reliable technical support for the data collection and transmission. The Internet and cloud platform are used to collect, fill in and review the information in the circulation process of medicinal materials in real time. The third-party real-time validation is carried out by relying on the matter-linked sensing equipment to improve the accuracy of source information. The big data are fully used to build a portrait of integrity, crack down on counterfeit products, and maintain the brand image of authentic medicinal materials. System objects include medicinal materials distributors, government regulatory agencies and consumers, etc. By controlling each link of the drug circulation at different levels, the system strictly complies with the supply standard of traditional Chinese medicine, so as to form the information loop of the drug circulation and realize the whole-process supervision of the drug circulation. The system has user-friendly operation interface, comprehensive functions, simple and easy to use, with good portability and expansibility, which can promote all the people to participate in tracing the source, so as to develop a green and ecological chain for Chinese medicinal materials.

[Discussion on high quality development and authentication system construction of Dao-di herbs based on blockchain].

Dao-di herbs are an important part of clinical medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. They are also precious wealth left to human beings from history, which contain deep traditional Chinese cultural connotations and play an important role in supporting and serving the Chinese medicine business. The relevant policy documents introduced by various national ministries and commissions have many contents and requirements related to the promotion of Dao-di herbs protection and industrial development. Due to the Dao-di herbs industry has a series of characteristics, such as a long chain, many involved links, long cycles, multiple production entities, multiple locations, and various types, the high-quality development of the industry has put forward higher requirements on the linkage between upstream and downstream, production entities, traceability of the whole process and information sharing. This article takes Dao-di herbs certification work as an application scenario and entry point, and discusses it from the perspective of block chain and information technology. It proposes the following work ideas: establish multi-party consensus from the macro-organizational management, business, and operational technical levels, and unblock channels for data and information, to achieve institutionalization of certification; establish certification-related standards and specifications to achieve certification standardization; build a certification hardware system to achieve certification networking; build a certification software system to develop functions for specific information content such as identity, origin, production, production process, quality, product and brand of authentic medicinal material production interactively, and realize certification programmatic; data security and sharing of related production activities to achieve socialization of certification. Make full use of modern technologies such as blockchain, the internet of things, big data and information technology, and through the joint participation of management, production, use and the public, the whole process information of Daodi herbs is integrated to form an interconnected information sharing application mode, thus, to serve and promote the high-quality development of Dao-di herbs industry.

Discussion on high quality development and authentication system construction of Dao-di herbs based on blockchain / 中国中药杂志

Dao-di herbs are an important part of clinical medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. They are also precious wealth left to human beings from history, which contain deep traditional Chinese cultural connotations and play an important role in supporting and serving the Chinese medicine business. The relevant policy documents introduced by various national ministries and commissions have many contents and requirements related to the promotion of Dao-di herbs protection and industrial development. Due to the Dao-di herbs industry has a series of characteristics, such as a long chain, many involved links, long cycles, multiple production entities, multiple locations, and various types, the high-quality development of the industry has put forward higher requirements on the linkage between upstream and downstream, production entities, traceability of the whole process and information sharing. This article takes Dao-di herbs certification work as an application scenario and entry point, and discusses it from the perspective of block chain and information technology. It proposes the following work ideas: establish multi-party consensus from the macro-organizational management, business, and operational technical levels, and unblock channels for data and information, to achieve institutionalization of certification; establish certification-related standards and specifications to achieve certification standardization; build a certification hardware system to achieve certification networking; build a certification software system to develop functions for specific information content such as identity, origin, production, production process, quality, product and brand of authentic medicinal material production interactively, and realize certification programmatic; data security and sharing of related production activities to achieve socialization of certification. Make full use of modern technologies such as blockchain, the internet of things, big data and information technology, and through the joint participation of management, production, use and the public, the whole process information of Daodi herbs is integrated to form an interconnected information sharing application mode, thus, to serve and promote the high-quality development of Dao-di herbs industry.

Blockchain-Enabled iWellChain Framework Integration With the National Medical Referral System: Development and Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Medical referral is the transfer of a patient's care from one physician to another upon request. This process involves multiple steps that require provider-to-provider and provider-to-patient communication. In Taiwan, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has implemented a national medical referral (NMR) system, which encourages physicians to refer their patients to different health care facilities to reduce unnecessary hospital visits and the financial stress on the national health insurance. However, the NHIA's NMR system is a government-based electronic medical referral service, and its referral data access and exchange are limited to authorized clinical professionals using their national health smart cards over the NHIA virtual private network. Therefore, this system lacks scalability and flexibility and cannot establish trusting relationships among patients, family doctors, and specialists. OBJECTIVE: To eliminate the existing restrictions of the NHIA's NMR system, this study developed a scalable, flexible, and blockchain-enabled framework that leverages the NHIA's NMR referral data to build an alliance-based medical referral service connecting health care facilities. METHODS: We developed a blockchain-enabled framework that can integrate patient referral data from the NHIA's NMR system with electronic medical record (EMR) and electronic health record (EHR) data of hospitals and community-based clinics to establish an alliance-based medical referral service serving patients, clinics, and hospitals and improve the trust in relationships and transaction security. We also developed a blockchain-enabled personal health record decentralized app (DApp) based on our blockchain-enabled framework for patients to acquire their EMR and EHR data; DApp access logs were collected to assess patients' behavior and investigate the acceptance of our personal authorization-controlled framework. RESULTS: The constructed iWellChain Framework was installed in an affiliated teaching hospital and four collaborative clinics. The framework renders all medical referral processes automatic and paperless and facilitates efficient NHIA reimbursements. In addition, the blockchain-enabled iWellChain DApp was distributed for patients to access and control their EMR and EHR data. Analysis of 3 months (September to December 2018) of access logs revealed that patients were highly interested in acquiring health data, especially those of laboratory test reports. CONCLUSIONS: This study is a pioneer of blockchain applications for medical referral services, and the constructed framework and DApp have been applied practically in clinical settings. The iWellChain Framework has the scalability to deploy a blockchain environment effectively for health care facilities; the iWellChain DApp has potential for use with more patient-centered applications to collaborate with the industry and facilitate its adoption.

Benefits of Blockchain Initiatives for Value-Based Care: Proposed Framework.

BACKGROUND: The potential of blockchain technology to achieve strategic goals, such as value-based care, is increasingly being recognized by both researchers and practitioners. However, current research and practices lack comprehensive approaches for evaluating the benefits of blockchain applications. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to develop a framework for holistically assessing the performance of blockchain initiatives in providing value-based care by extending the existing balanced scorecard (BSC) evaluation framework. METHODS: Based on a review of the literature on value-based health care, blockchain technology, and methods for evaluating initiatives in disruptive technologies, we propose an extended BSC method for holistically evaluating blockchain applications in the provision of value-based health care. The proposed method extends the BSC framework, which has been extensively used to measure both financial and nonfinancial performance of organizations. The usefulness of our proposed framework is further demonstrated via a case study. RESULTS: We describe the extended BSC framework, which includes five perspectives (both financial and nonfinancial) from which to assess the appropriateness and performance of blockchain initiatives in the health care domain. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed framework moves us toward a holistic evaluation of both the financial and nonfinancial benefits of blockchain initiatives in the context of value-based care and its provision.