Invented by APTE; Atul, BHAKRI; Akshay, Muralisrinivasan; Venkata Subramanian, S V; Jeeva, Elayaperumal; Elayabharathi, Elevance Health, Inc.

Appointment booking sounds simple, but behind the scenes it’s often messy, slow, and not very fair. When people want to book time with a doctor, a hospital room, or even a meeting with a specialist, there’s a lot that can go wrong: double bookings, lost requests, privacy risks, and delays. Now, a new invention changes all that with a smart, secure, and flexible way to reserve resources using blockchain technology. Let’s explore how this works, why it matters, and what makes it so different from anything that came before.

Background and Market Context

In today’s world, almost everything runs on schedules. Hospitals, clinics, and even big offices need to manage how people use their time, spaces, and staff. Resource reservation isn’t just about booking a slot—it’s about making sure the right people, at the right time, get the right service. When things go wrong—like double-booked rooms, missed notifications, or security leaks—everyone loses: patients, doctors, and caregivers.

Healthcare is a perfect example of this challenge. Patients must book appointments with doctors, sometimes with the help of caregivers. Providers need to know their own schedules, and sometimes refer patients to other specialists. All these steps need to be safe, private, and easy to track. The old way of doing things—paper calendars, basic online forms, or simple software—just can’t keep up. These systems are easy to hack, hard to update, and don’t always let the right people see or change appointments.

On top of that, healthcare information is sensitive. Patient records and appointments are protected by strict laws. If the wrong person sees the wrong data, it’s a serious problem. But at the same time, caregivers and providers need some level of access to do their jobs. The result is a tricky balancing act between privacy and access, speed and security. This is true not just in healthcare, but in any place where many people need to reserve or share resources—like classrooms, meeting rooms, or cloud servers.

With more people working remotely, and more services going digital, the need for better, safer, and smarter reservation systems has never been bigger. Companies want systems that are easy to use, fair for everyone, and able to handle lots of bookings at once. They also want to cut down on errors, save money, and keep people happy. And they want all this without risking privacy or security.

This is where the new system comes in. By using smart contracts on a permissioned blockchain, appointments and reservations can be tracked, confirmed, and managed in a way that’s secure, fair, and up-to-date for everyone involved. Caregivers can step in on behalf of patients, without breaking privacy rules. Doctors can refer patients without confusion. And everyone can see only what they need to see—no more, no less.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

Before diving into the new system, it’s important to understand what came before and why it falls short. Traditional resource reservation tools range from simple paper calendars to complex enterprise software. Most online booking systems work through a central server. Users log in, pick a slot, and the system saves the reservation. But these systems have some big problems.

First, central servers are single points of failure. If the main server goes down or is hacked, no one can book or check appointments. Second, these systems are not always good at sharing information across different groups, like patients, doctors, and caregivers. Third, privacy is hard to manage. It’s easy for someone to see information they shouldn’t, either by accident or on purpose.

Some newer systems use shared databases or “cloud” setups, but these still rely on trust in a single company or group. If there is a disagreement over who booked what, it’s hard to prove who is right. Plus, these systems can be slow to update, leading to double bookings or missed appointments.

Blockchain technology was created to solve problems like these. A blockchain is a type of shared ledger—a list of transactions that everyone in the network can agree on. If someone tries to cheat or make a mistake, the rest of the network can spot it and stop it from being saved. This makes blockchains very secure and very hard to alter after the fact.

But not all blockchains are the same. Public blockchains—like Bitcoin or Ethereum—are open to anyone, but they are slow and not always private. That’s why “permissioned” blockchains were created. In a permissioned blockchain, only approved members can join and make changes. This is perfect for healthcare and other industries where privacy is key.

Smart contracts are another big step forward. A smart contract is just a piece of code that runs by itself when certain things happen. For example, “if a patient books an appointment, mark that slot as taken.” These contracts can handle all the steps of making, confirming, or rejecting reservations, without needing a human to check everything. They create a clear, unchangeable record of what happened and when.

Some older systems tried to use smart contracts on public blockchains, but this was too slow and not private enough for most real-world needs. Others tried to use private databases with permission controls, but these still had the same problems of trust and central control. What was missing was a system that combined the privacy and speed of permissioned blockchains with the flexibility of smart contracts and the clear user interfaces needed for real people to use them easily.

This new invention does just that. It creates a network where patients, providers, and caregivers each have their own place in the system. Each group can see and do what they need to, without risking privacy or fairness. Smart contracts run in the background, making sure everything is recorded correctly and everyone is notified when they should be. And it all happens through easy-to-use screens and apps that anyone can understand.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

Now let’s look at the heart of the new system. At a basic level, it’s a network that connects patients, providers (like doctors), and caregivers. Each group is a “member” of the overall system, and each has its own secure space, or ledger, where information is stored. These ledgers are linked together through a permissioned blockchain, so only approved members can join and share data.

When someone wants to book a resource—a doctor’s time, a hospital bed, or even a meeting slot—they use a simple, clear interface (like an app or website). This interface talks to the blockchain network using special APIs. An API is just a way for one program to talk to another. The system supports many different interfaces, each one tailored to the needs of patients, providers, or caregivers. This means every user only sees what matters to them.

Under the hood, the magic happens through smart contracts. There are four main smart contracts in the system:

1. Appointment Contract: This handles all things related to booking and changing appointments. It lets patients, providers, or caregivers create new appointments, see what’s available, update times, and even refer appointments from one provider to another. If someone tries to double-book or make a mistake, the contract catches it and stops the error.

2. Patient Contract: This keeps track of patient information. It lets new patients join the system, updates their details, and lets approved people (like providers or caregivers) see only what they’re allowed to see. Privacy is built in from the start.

3. Provider Contract: This works the same way for doctors and other providers. It manages profiles, schedules, and lets them update their own information or check who has booked time with them.

4. Caregiver Contract: Sometimes patients need help to book appointments or manage their care. This contract lets caregivers act on behalf of patients, but only when allowed. They can book, change, or cancel appointments, and update their own details, all without seeing more information than they should.

Each member of the system has special nodes—computers that run the blockchain software. One type of node checks and agrees to transactions (endorsing peer), while another type makes sure the transactions are saved and cannot be changed (committing peer). This two-step process keeps the system safe and honest.

The real power of the system comes from how the smart contracts and user interfaces work together. When someone logs in—whether they’re a patient, provider, or caregiver—the system figures out who they are and shows the right screens. For example, a patient might see a calendar of available slots and their own upcoming appointments. A provider sees their own schedule, who’s booked, and who needs to be referred. A caregiver sees the patients they help, the appointments coming up, and can act on their behalf if needed.

If a patient wants to book an appointment, the system checks with the provider and, if there’s a caregiver involved, with them too. Everyone gets notified at each step, and all changes are recorded on the blockchain. If a provider refers a patient to someone else, the contracts handle the process and make sure nothing is lost or mixed up. If an appointment needs to be accepted or rejected, the right people are told, and the records are updated right away.

Because everything is stored on the blockchain, there’s a full, unchangeable history of every booking. This means disputes can be settled quickly—everyone can see exactly what happened and when. The system also makes it easy to see trends, like which providers are busiest or how many appointments are being booked.

The system is built to be flexible. While the main focus is on healthcare, it can be used for any type of resource reservation—like meeting rooms, equipment, or even computer time. It can run in the cloud, so there’s no need for big IT investments. And because it uses modern blockchain frameworks like Hyperledger Fabric, it can scale up or down as needed without losing security or speed.

What really sets this invention apart is how it balances privacy, fairness, and ease of use. Only approved people can see or change appointments. No one gets access to information they shouldn’t have. The interfaces are simple and tailored to each user. And the smart contracts mean that everyone can trust the results—no more lost bookings, double appointments, or privacy leaks. At the same time, the system can handle complex situations, like caregivers acting for patients or providers referring cases, all without confusion or delay.

Conclusion

This new way of booking appointments and reserving resources is a big leap forward. By using smart contracts on a permissioned blockchain, the system keeps everyone honest, safe, and up-to-date. Patients, providers, and caregivers all get what they need, when they need it, without risking privacy or fairness. The technology is flexible and can be used in many settings, from hospitals to businesses. Most importantly, it’s designed to be simple and clear for real people—not just tech experts. With this system, the future of resource reservation is smarter, safer, and more fair for everyone.

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