BLOCKCHAIN AND SMART CONTRACTS: OPTIMIZING AUDITING IN HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/revgeov17n1-081Keywords:
Auditing, Blockchain, Smart Contracts, Operating Costs, Health ManagementAbstract
Auditing in healthcare management plays an essential role in ensuring quality, regulatory compliance, and patient safety, but faces limitations due to manual processes, high costs, and vulnerabilities to fraud. This study, characterized as a narrative literature review, aimed to analyze the potential of blockchain technology and smart contracts as optimization tools for healthcare auditing. The results show that blockchain, by providing immutable, transparent, and distributed records, increases the traceability of information and reduces susceptibility to manipulation. Smart contracts, in turn, automate flows and compliance checks, reducing human error, speeding up processes, and reducing operating costs. In addition to strengthening the detection of fraud and failures, these technologies offer greater efficiency and integrity to audits, benefiting both healthcare institutions and patients. Despite the identified benefits, challenges related to regulation, interoperability, and privacy remain, which must be overcome to enable their large-scale adoption. It is concluded that blockchain and smart contracts represent promising solutions for more efficient, secure, and transparent healthcare management.
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