Applicability of Blockchain-Based Implementation for Risk Management in Healthcare Projects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v5.191Keywords:
blockchain technology, distributed ledger technology, DLT, healthcare construction projects, risk management, smart contractsAbstract
Hospitals provide diverse tasks essential for the delivery of patient care and are comprised of many functional units. This makes healthcare construction projects highly complex among other types of building projects due to the specific regulations, multiple functions it must provide, complicated mechanical and electrical systems, and so on. This complexity embodies potential risk events during its construction, which not only influences the completion of the project but can impact the patients’ safety and health conditions even after the project is finished. To prevent such outcomes, risk management is a crucial process that can identify, evaluate, and properly mitigate risks along the project lifecycle. A key aspect of risk management is that it requires the interaction and contribution from multiple stakeholders of the project. Various frameworks and tools that enable collaborative management of risks among multiple stakeholders have been developed in the past. However, the developed frameworks are not suitable in the sense that it does not protect the confidentiality of individual inputs from the stakeholders. Moreover, these frameworks are centralized systems, which can bring issues related to the security and transparency of the information that is being stored. Blockchain technology is an emergent distributed ledger technology (DLT) that can provide solutions to the listed problems found in centralized systems. It is a novel system that records information on a decentralized, distributed ledger, where transactions are constantly duplicated and updated. This study explores the applicability of blockchain technology for healthcare risk management. The key functional elements of blockchain that can resolve the challenges faced by prior risk management frameworks have been identified and discussed. Based on the discussions, a conceptual information management model for managing healthcare project risks on a blockchain has been conceived. The development of the initial prototype has been explained. The research illustrates the process, benefits, and limitations of adopting blockchain technology for collaborative risk management in healthcare projects.
Downloads
References
Choi J, Leite F, de Oliveira DP. BIM-based benchmarking for healthcare construction projects. Autom Constr. 2020;119(June):103347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103347
Gokhale S, Gormley TC. Construction management of healthcare projects. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2014.
Enache-Pommer E, Horman MJ, Messner JI, Riley D. A unified process approach to healthcare project delivery: Synergies between greening strategies, lean principles and BIM. Banff, AB: Construction Research Congress, 2010; pp. 1376–85.
US Census Bureau. Value of construction put in place at a glance [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 8]. Available from: https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/c30index.html
CII. Integrated Project Risk Assessment (IPRA), Version 2.0. Austin: The University of Texas; 2013.
Gutierrez G, Gardella R, Ryan B. New Colorado VA hospital is state of the art, and more than $1 billion over budget [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2021 Nov 8]. Available from: https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/va-hospital-scandal/new-colorado-va-hospital-state-art-more-1-billion-over-n898091
Project Management Institute. A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute; 2004.
CII. Probabilistic risk management in design and construction projects. Research Summary 280-1. Austin: The University of Texas; 2012.
CII. Applying probabilistic risk management in design and construction projects. Research Summary 280-2. Austin: The University of Texas; 2012.
Herrera-Viedma E, Cabrerizo FJ, Kacprzyk J, Pedrycz W. A review of soft consensus models in a fuzzy environment. Inf Fusion. 2014;17(1):4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2013.04.002
Goh CS, Abdul-Rahman H, Abdul Samad Z. Applying risk management workshop for a public construction project: Case study. J Constr Eng Manag. 2013;139(5):572–80. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000599
Patterson FD, Neailey K. A risk register database system to aid the management of project risk. Int J Proj Manag. 2002;20(5):365–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00040-0
Tang W, Qiang M, Duffield CF, Young DM, Lu Y. Risk management in the Chinese construction industry. J Constr Eng Manag. 2007;13(2):944–56. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2007)133:12(944)
Monzer N, Fayek AR, Lourenzutti R, Siraj NB. Aggregation-based framework for construction risk assessment with heterogeneous groups of experts. J Constr Eng Manag. 2019;145(3):04019003. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001614
Shang H, Anumba CJ, Bouchlaghem DM, Miles JC, Cen M, Taylor M. An intelligent risk assessment system for distributed construction teams. Eng ConstrArchit Manag. 2005;12(4):391–409. https://doi.org/10.1108/09699980510608839
Han SH, Kim DY, Kim H, Jang WS. A web-based integrated system for international project risk management. Autom Constr. 2008;17(3):342–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2007.05.012
Hsueh SL, Perng YH, Yan MR, Lee JR. On-line multi-criterion risk assessment model for construction joint ventures in China. Autom Constr. 2007;16(5):607–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2007.01.001
Nair GR, Sebastian S. BlockChain technology centralised ledger to distributed ledger. Int Res J Eng Technol. 2017;4(3):2395–56.
Nakamoto S. Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. SSRN Electron J. 2019.
ul Hassan F, Ali A, Rahouti M, et al. Blockchain and the future of the internet: A comprehensive review. New York: Cornell University, 2019; pp.1–25.
Yaga D, Mell P, Roby N, Scarfone K. Blockchain technology overview. Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology; 2019. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8202
Buterin V. Ethereum white paper: A next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform. Ethereum. 2014;1–36.
Swan M. Blockchain: Blueprint for a new economy. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc, 2015; p. 123.
Chung IB. Blockchain-based methodology for confidential and traceable collaborative risk assessment. 2021.
Polge J, Robert J, le Traon Y. Permissioned blockchain frameworks in the industry: A comparison. ICT Express. 2021;7(2):229–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icte.2020.09.002
Androulaki E, Barger A, Bortnikov V, et al. Hyperledger fabric: A distributed operating system for permissioned blockchains. EuroSys ‘18: Proceedings of the Thirteenth EuroSys Conference. April 2018; pp. 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3190508.3190538
Private data—Hyperledger-fabricdocs master documentation [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2021 Nov 8]. Available from: https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-2.2/private-data/private-data.html
Gostin LO, Levit LA, Nass SJ. Beyond the HIPAA privacy rule: Enhancing privacy, improving health through research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2009. https://doi.org/10.17226/12458
Cyran MA. Blockchain as a foundation for sharing healthcare data. BHTY. 2018;1. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v1.13
Chen D. Open data: Implications on privacy in healthcare research. BHTY. 2020;3:1–10. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v3.144
Gangula R, Thalla SV, Ikedum I, Okpala C, Sneha S. Leveraging the hyperledger fabric for enhancing the efficacy of clinical decision support systems. BHTY. 2021;1:1–6. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v4.154
Carter G, Chevellereau B, Shahriar H, Sneha S. OpenPharma Blockchain on FHIR: An interoperable solution for read-only health records exchange through blockchain and biometrics. BHTY. 2020;3:1–10. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v3.120
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 In Bae Chung, Carlos Caldas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY). Read the full Copyright Statement.
