Anesthesia Immutable Registry of Real-time Vital Signs and Waveforms using Blockchain

Healthcare has become one of the most important emerging application areas of blockchain technology.[1] Although the use of a cryptographic ledger within Anesthesia Information Management Systems (AIMS) remains uncertain. The need for a truly immutable anesthesia record is yet to be established, given that the current AIMS database systems have reliable audit capabilities. Adoption of AIMS has followed Rogers 1962 formulation of the theory of diffusion of innovation. Between 2018 and 2020, adoption was expected to be the 84% of U.S. academic anesthesiology departments.[2] Larger anesthesiology groups with large caseloads, urban settings, and government affiliated or academic institutions are more likely to adopt and implement AIMS solutions, due to the substantial amount of financial resources and dedicated staff to support both the implementation and maintenance that are required. As health care dollars become scarcer, this is the most frequently cited constraint in the adoption and implementation of AIMS.[3] We propose the use of a blockchain database for saving all incoming data from multiparametric monitors at the operating theatre. We present a proof of concept of the use of this technology for electronic anesthesia records even in the absence of an AIMS at site. In this paper we shall discuss its plausibility as well as its feasibility. The Electronic medical records (EMR) in AIMS might contain errors and artifacts that may (or may not) have to be dealt with. Making them immutable is a scary concept. The use of the blockchain for saving raw data directly from medical monitoring equipment and devices in the operating theatre has to be further investigated.