Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization of Blockchain Research in Medical Domain

Advancements in blockchain technology represent significant contributions to the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution. In particular, the applications of such technology in critical industries like medical services have attracted a great degree of interest from many parties. However, little is known about how far the blockchain research in medical domain has progressed. We address this by presenting a bibliometric analysis of 999 journal articles related to blockchain technologies in medical domain from the Web of Science Core Collection database published between 2016 and 2021. Then, we performed the analysis and visualization procedures based on various criteria including institutional affiliations, publication outlets, citations, authorships, and keyword co-occurrences. Last, we discuss the status-quo and future directions of this promising field. In general, the paper advances in both width and depth from existing bibliometric works on this topic. Furthermore, it provides academics, policy makers, and practitioners with a better understanding regarding the current trends of blockchain research in medical applications.