Abstract
The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the
pharmaceutical industry has the potential to bring about significant advancements and
improvements, particularly in areas like supply chain management, drug discovery, and
patient monitoring. By leveraging IoT technology in these ways, the pharmaceutical
industry can enhance efficiency, improve product quality, ensure patient safety, and
mitigate the risks associated with counterfeit drugs in the market. However, it was
essential to address cybersecurity concerns to safeguard sensitive data and maintain the
integrity of the IoT ecosystem in healthcare. The concept of integrating IoT with
blockchain in the pharmaceutical supply chain is indeed a powerful solution to address
the challenges faced by the industry, particularly in supply chain management and the
prevention of counterfeit drugs. Integrating IoT with blockchain technology also results
in many advantages like accurate location tracking, real-time updates and visibility,
counterfeit prevention, timely delivery to customers, environmental parameter control,
expiry date monitoring, pharmaceutical warehouse management, automated decision
making and many more. By combining the strengths of IoT and blockchain, the
pharmaceutical industry can build a robust and secure supply chain ecosystem. This
integrated approach not only enhances transparency and traceability but also addresses
critical issues such as counterfeiting by ensuring the delivery of safe and authentic
pharmaceutical products to consumers. Environmental parameters are also monitored
in a warehouse to avoid spoilage of medicines. The date of expiry of medicines and
related equipment are monitored and categorized into three levels such as discard the
medicines if expired, near to expiry if the expiry date is nearer and store in the
warehouse if the date of expiry is far, and a message is sent accordingly to the
supervisor for necessary action.