Blockchain technology applied to medical research can enhance scientific trust by creating an unalterable and time-stamped record of research findings. Blockchain technology, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, ensures that transactions included in a book cannot be changed over time. As Bitcoin cryptocurrency (BTC) applies, the result is a money system that cannot be manipulated by a centralized government because it creates a permanent and accurate record of all transactions. The strength of the system lies in the use of a distributed database, compared to current monetary systems that require a centralized database used by credit card companies and banks. The application of the same technology in medical research increases the confidence in the results, as in bitcoin, transactions (scientific data collected) are permanently and immutably archived.
Money exchange, like medical research, requires a high level of trust. In the past, money has created this trust through government regulation and the care of central banks. Past medical research has attempted to create a high level of trust through peer review by reputable journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine. Both methods of building trust are based on a central trust authority, either a government or a medical journal. Therefore, both methods can be defrauded through corruption or innocent mistakes by the centralized authority. This has led to widespread distrust of medical research. Bitcoin works differently because it establishes a trusted method in a distributed network based on a mathematical algorithm, rather than a centralized authority that can tolerate human error.
Financial transactions may require the highest level of trust. People need to know that all transactions recorded in the ledger are completely accurate and completely resilient to change in the future. Because blockchain technology implemented in Bitcoin has won this trust, bitcoin has become a widely used repository with a market capitalization of over $ 100,000 billion. When it comes to other cryptocurrencies, total trust in blockchain-based financial systems exceeds $ 250 trillion. Health professionals should also be confident that the data obtained from medical research is completely accurate and completely unchangeable. Doctors should be aware that medical research is not plagiarized or fraudulent in any way. Blockchain technology has made bitcoin a reliable and global currency. In the same way, blockchain-based medical research will greatly increase confidence in the results and, as a result, improve medical care.