Exploring the intersection of blockchain and e-health: A bibliometric analysis of recent research

Abstract

Future developments in blockchain technology and e-health offer great potential. Blockchain’s decentralized ledger enables secure, transparent transactions without intermediaries. However, the healthcare sector struggles with issues related to data quality, safety, confidentiality, and accessibility, often relying on centralized databases. One major concern is preserving patient privacy and security, which is governed by strong policies and regulations. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis to investigate major priority areas, hotspots, prospective possibilities, and dynamic features at the point of junction of blockchain and e-health. The study’s dataset, which includes 545 articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2019 and 2023, was selected from the Web of Science core collection database. With the help of Bibliometrix R, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace, it examines productivity, prominent publications, and emerging trends. The research output of academic countries and institutions, publishing results, notable publications, prolific writers, and the organization of academia according to popular topics and emerging trends are some of these features. The findings highlight clusters warranting further research, proposing an investigation into blockchain frameworks, public healthcare, big data, fog computing, smart healthcare solutions, patient-centric information exchange, and fraud-enabled blockchain Internet of Medical Things systems. These results offer meaningful perspectives for researchers and practitioners seeking to integrate blockchain into e-health.