Analysis of Decentralized Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Systematic Review

Supply chain optimization has recently emerged as a key research area in process operations and management. There has been a great deal of research done on facility sites and layouts, inventory and distribution planning, capacity and production planning, and complex scheduling. This information only briefly and infrequently addresses issues unique to the pharmaceutical sector. Moreover, effective supply chain management is a problem in any industry, but there is added complexity and risk in healthcare due to the direct impact that a supply chain disruption might have on patient security and health outcomes. One solution for improving the security, authenticity, data provenance, and utility of the health supply chain is blockchain technology. Our goal is to present an overview of the potential problems connected with the adoption and use of blockchain in the medical supply chain, with a focus on the public health, medical device, and pharmaceutical supply sectors.