Two young brothers from Chattanooga, Canada believe that blockchain could be the key to solving the opioid crisis.

When you think of the opioid crisis, the last thing on your mind would be blockchain. After all, how can blockchain technology possibly account for an epidemic based primarily on social concerns? The opioid crisis is surely at record-concerning levels, but blockchain technology may provide us with a means to better track and account for addiction.

So, what can blockchain really do for the opioid crisis? As it turns out, quite a bit.

Tracking the Movement of Drugs

The majority of the opioid crisis has been created due to the misuse of prescription strength painkillers. Over-prescribing is an issue in and of itself, but equally as important is making sure drugs are used for their intended purposes. Oftentimes, prescription drugs end up being resold on the black market, further feeding dependency.

The concept behind the new Chattanooga-based medical startup EirSystems intends to use blockchain technology to track the movement of prescription drugs. It’s not a completely far-fetched idea.

Using blockchain-based systems, doctors and pharmacists could more easily track opioid painkillers, keeping a record of their movement, what they are being used for, and how much is being prescribed at a time.

A New Approach

It’s a technocratic solution to a problem which ultimately desperately needs it. By recording every prescription on a ledger, and account for their movement, opioids could be prevented from falling into the wrong hands. This would go a long ways towards preventing further addiction and maybe even help people to get the assistance they need to recover.

The first implementations are expected to be launched in smaller American towns where the opioid crisis has been most felt. They will first be launching their blockchain-based medical system in hospitals in Ohio and smaller towns in Tennessee.

[bctt tweet=”Blockchain has a lot to offer in solving the opioid crisis. Using blockchain-based systems, doctors and pharmacists could more easily track opioid painkillers, keeping a record of their movement, what they are being used for, and how much is being prescribed. ” username=”beincrypto”]

If successful, there is serious potential for the biotechnology and medical sectors to begin looking more closely at automated systems based on blockchain technology.

Do you think technocratic solutions like this could end up reducing the opioid addiction rate? Does this problem only require social solutions based on concrete policy? Let us know your thoughts below.