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advent of the internet and its impact on healthcare domain made it possible to store, access and update medical records anywhere and anytime. The term “Electronic Health Record(EHR)” refers to a digital format in which patient information is kept. Because the records are patient-centered, any authorised user can access them from any location, at any time, and from any device. Blockchain is a new technology, booming in most of the industries. Blockchain contains a number of built-in characteristics, including distributed ledger, decentralized storage, authenticity, confidentiality, and immutability and it has progressed actual applications in industries like healthcare. Blockchain achieves fortifying and averting the modification of electronic health records. Blockchain supports the quality of healthcare services to the benefits of both patients and hospitals. This paper investigates the existing techniques used in healthcare blockchain system in the domain of authentication, data integrity, and confidentiality.

Blockchain is an emerging technology which works on decentralized peer-to-peer network and allows to make transactions securely by eliminating the need of a central authority. Blockchain is renowned for exchange of crypto-currencies but with the advent of smart contracts it is now widely used in other applications such as smart supply chain, healthcare, smart transportation, online voting, public donations, will management, buying and selling property and insurance sector. The smart contracts are digitally signed and make applications immutable and transparent. This paper is aimed at unveiling Blockchain technology, smart contracts and its applications. This paper is also disclosing the barriers in adopting Blockchain and smart contracts. The recent literature was reviewed to find the answers to the research questions. Huge power consumption, slow transaction rate, complex architecture and lack of awareness and expertise are identified as the barriers in Blockchain adoption whereas legal issues and high transaction cost are the main barriers in adopting smart contracts.

Blockchain is a technology that operates on distributed peer-to-peer network and is widely adopted by large number of organizations due to its attractive features such as highly secured, transparent, traceable, low transaction fee, no need of central authority and confidentiality. There are lot of confusions and myths regarding the blockchain technology as it is emerging technology and too complex in nature. This paper is aimed at revealing blockchain technology in depth along with its applications and open research challenges. The past published literature was reviewed to achieve the objectives. The study found that apart from cryptocurrency, blockchain is also suitable for other applications such as smart cities, supply chain, healthcare, smart transportation and authenticating IoT (Internet of Things) devices. This study is also disclosing various open research challenges such as scalability issues, huge power consumption and delay in completing transactions. This paper is also sharing the mitigation approaches and the future of blockchain with smart contracts.