Under Pressure to Tighten Supply Chain, Drug Companies Look to Blockchain

AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. plan to expand a test project completed last year that tracked the ownership of drugs moving through the health-care supply chain. The new test will increase the number of drugs and health-care devices and perform more complex transactions, said Dale Danilewitz, chief information officer at the drug distributor. Specifically, Amerisource wants to streamline the verification of drugs that a retailer or hospital returns to the company, Mr. Danilewitz told CIO Journal. Some returns can be resold if their history can be verified. Today, there is no single database or system that industry participants share that contains such information, said Heather Zenk, senior vice president of strategic global sourcing at Amerisource.

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For more information about blockchain and its potential for use in healthcare and along the supply chain, check out "Understanding Blockchain for DSCSA Compliance," on AmerisourceBergen Insights.