5 Use Cases of Blockchain Technology for the Animal Health Sector

Blockchain technology is taking several sectors by storm. The healthcare market is no exception – blockchain-based healthcare investment is projected to exceed $16 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 40.8% from 2022 to 2031 (Source: Allied Market Research).

While inferior to human healthcare, the animal healthcare sector is growing at an impressive rate – last year; the sector managed to surpass USD 150 billion (Source: GM Insights). The pet health market is large and combines various products – from food to toys and medicines. With the increasing social acceptance of pets, the more disposable income of pet owners, and their willingness to spend more on average every next year, the industry is expected to continue to expand.

The pet health market can benefit from implementing blockchain-based concepts similar to the medical industry due to their high similarities. In this article, we will take a closer look at 5 revolutionary use cases of blockchain for the animal health sector and how the new technology can solve some of the most pressing problems that pet owners and veterinarians must overcome.

Shared Pet Medical Data Records

Data siloing in healthcare has been one of the most persistent problems and is believed to be one of the main causes of medical errors that can sometimes lead to fatal outcomes. Despite the increasing degree of digitization, there is no unified record of medical data that allows doctors to have all the necessary and important information for a given patient at their disposal. The main reason for this is both infrastructural data limitations and privacy concerns.

Blockchain technology can make it possible to create a comprehensive system for the secure administration of records in the chain. This system can combine all records under one roof while eliminating any privacy concerns due to the basic way distributed ledgers work. It can allow veterinarians to access all past health data for each animal, such as past illnesses, allergies, medications administered and many more.

Having access to pet medical data records for all veterinarians is essential for better diagnosis, treatment and monitoring and can greatly improve the overall efficiency of their operations.

Supply chain optimization

Blockchain technology can help track the entire supply chain of medicines, ensuring a high degree of transparency about how they are produced. End consumers can have full information about every step taken to bring the product to market. For example, some medicines produced after clinical trials are based on practices that are inhumane to animals. Other products use substances or production methods that are judged negatively by end consumers. All this information can become transparent by using blockchain technology.

Blockchain can also improve supply chain efficiency for manufacturers – by having a granular, in-depth view of all stages of product development; they can minimize costs, reduce time to market, as well as maximize the quality of their products.

Research improvement in clinical trials

Closely related to how the new technology can improve supply chains for pharmaceutical companies and their end consumers, blockchain can also provide new ways of handling medical research and clinical trial data. These are usually related to very sensitive information and are also based on very strict parameters, which ensure their validity. Any tampering with the information can lead to significant financial losses for companies or even serious consequences for end consumers.

The use of smart contracts removes any potential fraud that could occur by having an entity change the outcome of a court case in their favor. Furthermore, it becomes much more difficult for information leaks to occur due to the inherent security of distributed ledgers. This could potentially lead to a higher general level of trust in medical research.

Workflow improvement of veterinarians

Veterinary clinics and practices are understaffed and overworked – in many European countries there is only one vet per 1000 pets on average. In addition, they also have to deal with a lot of administrative work and patient management tasks.

A blockchain-based patient care system can help improve their workflow by introducing a higher degree of digitization and automation of administrative processes while ensuring full compliance with all legal requirements relating to personal data.

Wearable IoT device integration

Research on blockchain integration with wearable IoT devices is increasing. If combined with blockchain-based medical records, wearables can provide a more in-depth insight for monitoring and treatment purposes and an up-to-date medical data record.

VetAPP – Embracing the future of pet healthcare

VetAPP is a new blockchain-based application that aims to improve conditions for pet owners and veterinarians by introducing various innovative tools for diagnosis, monitoring, booking management and many more.

One of the project’s most innovative features is the AI ​​tool which is expected to provide a valid pre-diagnosis in 70% of cases and inform the pet owner whether a visit to the vet is necessary or not. AI is expected to be instrumental in reducing the workload of veterinarians and improving the overall medical care of pets while saving costs for pet owners.

If you are interested in learning more about VetAPP, their mission for the pet healthcare industry, and the full range of functionality their app will offer, visit www.vetapp.io.