Towards blockchain-based hospital waste management systems; applications and future trends

Effective hospital waste management (HWM) has become a significant environmental and green healthcare domain issue. In this regard, recent outstanding technological advances in artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and blockchain technology have made significant contributions in solving environmental challenges. This study aims to address how blockchain technology would meet the requirements of HWM. Hence, a comprehensive systematic literature review is done to identify and critically appraise blockchain applications in the field of study. These applications are classified into waste generation, waste separation and packaging, waste storage containers, waste collection, temporary waste storage area, waste treatment, off-site and on-site transport of waste, waste disposal, hospital staffs training, waste management regulations, hospital sewage system, energy, and waste recycling and reuse. Moreover, each cluster's current limitations and challenges to enlighten the existing research gaps and clarify future trends are addressed. The findings of this study would be helpful for researchers interested in green healthcare, specifically drug, pharmaceutical, and HWM and related fields.