Communications on Applied Electronics |
Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA |
Volume 7 - Number 38 |
Year of Publication: 2023 |
Authors: Olakunle Anthony Ayodeji, Arome Junior Gabriel, Aderonke F. Thompson |
10.5120/cae2023652898 |
Olakunle Anthony Ayodeji, Arome Junior Gabriel, Aderonke F. Thompson . Blockchain, Snap Tags, and QR Codes for Combating the Subtle Crime of Drug Counterfeiting. Communications on Applied Electronics. 7, 38 ( Jun 2023), 16-25. DOI=10.5120/cae2023652898
One of the most serious crime or offenses against public health is the manufacture, distribution, and sale of fake medications and other medical supplies. The act of "deliberately and fraudulently mislabeling pharmaceuticals with respect to their identity or source" is known as drug counterfeiting. Both branded and generic products can be counterfeited, including those that have incorrect components, insufficient active substances, or none at all. Legitimate medications that have reached their expiration date may be included. In certain cases, low quality is noted along with a bogus expiration date. Treatment failure, end organ damage, toxicity, loss of confidence, illness escalation, and occasionally significant financial loss are all consequences and dangers of using counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The majority of current solutions either rely heavily on computational resources or are purely theoretical research. The deadly threat of drug counterfeiting needs to be reduced, and there is a need for a more secure, scalable, but simple to implement solution. Therefore, this study describes the creation of a system for detecting fake drugs that combines blockchain technology with QR codes and SnapTags. The proposed system performs admirably in comparison to some of the current related systems, even surpassing some of them.