Data are being transmitted and stored on cloud-based networks, including clinical, research, and publishing data. These cloudbased systems often lack comprehensiveness, accessibility, interoperability, confidentiality,
accountability, and flexibility, which can cause delays for medical treatments, slowed research projects, and general inefficiencies. The advent of blockchain-based technologies provides a reliable solution to ensure that data storage and access are standardised and transparent, independent of a trusted third party. It is not a new stand-alone system, but a layer of trust between the data and users that can integrate with other emerging tech - nologies and optimise their impact. It is rapidly advancing in financial and supply chain industries and now being explored successfully in many applications across the healthcare industry. When applied in medical publishing, blockchain may serve to remedy data sharing and intellectual property issues that often confront medical writers, though implementing this new technology will have some hurdles. In this article, we highlight some selected blockchain-related projects relevant to medical writers.
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