Design scoping review methodology to map research on blockchain in healthcare. Help me: 1) Develop broad research question, 2) Create comprehensive search strategy across databases, 3) Design charting form for data extraction, 4) Plan visual synthesis (concept maps), 5) Identify knowledge gaps for future research

Prompt

Design scoping review methodology to map research on blockchain in healthcare. Help me: 1) Develop broad research question, 2) Create comprehensive search strategy across databases, 3) Design charting form for data extraction, 4) Plan visual synthesis (concept maps), 5) Identify knowledge gaps for future research

ClaudeAnthropic

Scoping Review Methodology: Blockchain in Healthcare

1) Broad Research Question

Primary Question

"What is the nature, extent, and range of research evidence on blockchain technology applications in healthcare?"

PCC Framework (Population-Concept-Context)

Population: Healthcare stakeholders (patients, providers, administrators, policymakers)

Concept: Blockchain technology and distributed ledger technologies

Context: Healthcare settings, systems, and applications

Sub-questions

What healthcare domains have explored blockchain applications?

What are the reported benefits and challenges of blockchain in healthcare?

What methodological approaches have been used to study blockchain in healthcare?

What are the current and proposed use cases?

What implementation barriers and facilitators have been identified?

2) Comprehensive Search Strategy

A. Keywords and Search Terms

Blockchain Terms:

Blockchain

"Distributed ledger*"

"Smart contract*"

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin

Ethereum

"Decentralized system*"

"Consensus mechanism*"

Hyperledger

Healthcare Terms:

Health*

Medical

Clinical

Hospital*

Patient*

"Electronic health record*"

"EHR"

"EMR"

"Personal health record*"

Pharmaceutical

Medicine

Telemedicine

Diagnosis

Treatment

"Health information"

"Medical record*"

"Healthcare delivery"

B. Database Search Strategy

Primary Databases:

PubMed/MEDLINE

Scopus

Web of Science

IEEE Xplore

ACM Digital Library

CINAHL

Embase

Grey Literature Sources:

Google Scholar (first 200 results)

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

ArXiv

MedRxiv

Conference proceedings (IEEE, ACM, AMIA)

Government/regulatory websites (FDA, WHO, CDC)

Healthcare blockchain consortia websites

C. Sample Search String (PubMed)

(blockchain[Title/Abstract] OR "distributed ledger"[Title/Abstract] OR 
"distributed ledgers"[Title/Abstract] OR DLT[Title/Abstract] OR 
"smart contract"[Title/Abstract] OR "smart contracts"[Title/Abstract])
AND(health*[Title/Abstract] OR medical[Title/Abstract] OR 
clinical[Title/Abstract] OR patient*[Title/Abstract] OR 
hospital*[Title/Abstract] OR "electronic health record*"[Title/Abstract] OR 
EHR[Title/Abstract] OR EMR[Title/Abstract] OR pharmaceutical[Title/Abstract] OR 
medicine[Title/Abstract] OR healthcare[Title/Abstract])

D. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion:

Published 2008-present (Bitcoin whitepaper: 2008)

English language

Peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, grey literature

Focus on blockchain/DLT in healthcare contexts

All study designs

Theoretical, empirical, or implementation studies

Exclusion:

Not related to healthcare

Purely technical blockchain papers without healthcare application

Opinion pieces without substantive analysis

Duplicate publications

Non-English without available translation

3) Data Charting Form

Bibliometric Data

Field	Description
Reference ID	Unique identifier
Authors	Full author list
Year	Publication year
Title	Full title
Source	Journal/Conference name
Country	Country of first author
Funding	Funding source(s)

Study Characteristics

Field	Options/Description
Study Type	□ Empirical research □ Conceptual/theoretical □ Review □ Case study □ Pilot/proof-of-concept □ Implementation study □ Framework/architecture design
Methodology

□ Qualitative
□ Quantitative
□ Mixed methods
□

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MistralMistral AI

Certainly! Conducting a scoping review to map research on blockchain in healthcare involves several key steps. Here’s a detailed methodology to guide you through the process:

1. Develop Broad Research Question

A broad research question helps to define the scope of your review. For blockchain in healthcare, a suitable question might be:

"What is the current state of research on the application of blockchain technology in healthcare, including its benefits, challenges, and future directions?"

2. Create Comprehensive Search Strategy Across Databases

A comprehensive search strategy ensures that you capture all relevant literature. Here’s a step-by-step approach:

a. Identify Key Databases

PubMed/MEDLINE

Web of Science

Scopus

IEEE Xplore

Google Scholar

Cochrane Library

Embase

b. Develop Search Terms

Use a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary (e.g., MeSH terms in PubMed).

Keywords:

Blockchain

Distributed ledger technology

Healthcare

Medical records

Electronic health records

Health information exchange

Health data management

Smart contracts

Healthcare supply chain

Telemedicine

Example Search Strategy for PubMed:

("blockchain"[MeSH Terms] OR "blockchain"[All Fields] OR "distributed ledger technology"[All Fields]) AND ("healthcare"[MeSH Terms] OR "healthcare"[All Fields] OR "medical records"[All Fields] OR "electronic health records"[All Fields] OR "health information exchange"[All Fields] OR "health data management"[All Fields] OR "smart contracts"[All Fields] OR "healthcare supply chain"[All Fields] OR "telemedicine"[All Fields])

c. Apply Filters

Publication Date: Last 10 years (to capture recent developments)

Language: English

Document Type: Articles, reviews, conference papers, etc.

3. Design Charting Form for Data Extraction

A charting form helps to systematically extract relevant data from the selected studies. Here’s a sample charting form:

Category	Details
Study Identification	Author(s), Year, Title, Journal/Conference
Study Design	Type of study (e.g., empirical, review, case study)
Blockchain Application	Specific application area (e.g., medical records, supply chain)
Technology Used	Type of blockchain (e.g., public, private, consortium)
Benefits	Reported benefits (e.g., security, transparency, efficiency)
Challenges	Reported challenges (e.g., scalability, interoperability, regulatory)
Outcomes	Key findings or outcomes
Future Directions	Suggestions for future research or implementation
Geographical Scope	Country or region of study
Additional Notes	Any other relevant information

4. Plan Visual Synthesis (Concept Maps)

Concept maps help to visually represent the relationships between different aspects of the research. Here’s how you can plan it:

a. Identify Key Concepts

Blockchain Technology

Healthcare Applications

Benefits

Challenges

Future Directions

b. Create Nodes and Links

Nodes: Represent key concepts (e.g., blockchain, medical records, security)

Links: Represent relationships between nodes (e.g., blockchain enhances security of medical records)

c. Use Software Tools

MindMeister

CmapTools

Lucidchart

5. Identify Knowledge Gaps for Future Research

Identifying knowledge gaps involves analyzing the extracted data to find areas that are under-researched or need further exploration. Here’s how you can do it:

a. Analyze Extracted Data

Frequency Analysis: Identify the most and least researched areas.

Thematic Analysis: Group similar findings and identify emerging themes.

b. Identify Gaps

Under-Researched Areas: Topics with limited studies.

Emerging Trends: New areas that are starting to gain attention.

Methodological Gaps: Limitations in current research methods.

c. Formulate Future Research Questions

Example Questions:

What are the long-term impacts of blockchain implementation in healthcare?

How can blockchain technology be integrated with existing healthcare systems?

What are the ethical considerations in using blockchain for healthcare data management?

By following this methodology, you can effectively map the current state of research on blockchain in healthcare and identify areas for future investigation.