Recent advances and future prospects for blockchain in biomedicine

Eric Ni; Xiangru Tang; Xiao Zhou; Danielle Lee; Ahmed Elhussein; Elizabeth Knight; Gamze Gürsoy; Mark Gerstein

doi:10.1016/j.crmeth.2025.101114

Recent advances and future prospects for blockchain in biomedicine

Cell Rep Methods. 2025 Aug 18;5(8):101114. doi: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2025.101114. Epub 2025 Jul 25.

Authors

Eric Ni¹, Xiangru Tang², Xiao Zhou¹, Danielle Lee³, Ahmed Elhussein⁴, Elizabeth Knight⁵, Gamze Gürsoy⁶, Mark Gerstein⁷

Affiliations

¹ Program in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
² Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
³ Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Informatics & Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁵ School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA; New York Genome Center, New York City, NY, USA; Department of Computer Science, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA.
⁷ Program in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics & Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Statistics & Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: mark@gersteinlab.org.

Abstract

Healthcare data are rapidly evolving with the introduction of new modalities and an exponential increase in volume. Current health data storage and communication services face major obstacles in terms of privacy, security, and operational efficiency in the face of this new data landscape. Blockchain technology, characterized by its immutability, auditability, and decentralization, is emerging as a promising solution. However, integrating blockchain into existing systems presents significant challenges, particularly regarding data privacy and scalability. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how blockchain technology can transform the biomedical sector, potentially making healthcare data management more secure and efficient.

Keywords: CP: biotechnology; CP: computational biology; biomedicine; blockchain; databases; healthcare.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Blockchain* / trends
Computer Security*
Humans
Information Storage and Retrieval / methods