Blockchain in Healthcare: A Decentralized Platform for Secure Electronic Health Records
摘要
A blockchain-based health data management system offers a secure and efficient solution for handling sensitive patient information by leveraging the decentralized nature of blockchain technology. This system ensures that only authorized healthcare professionals can access and modify medical data, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access. The integration of the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) enhances security by providing decentralized, tamper-proof storage for large health records, ensuring data integrity and protecting against unauthorized modifications. Additionally, smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain manage user registration, access control, and health data verification, ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized entities. The immutable and transparent nature of blockchain technology minimizes response times, reduces the risk of misinformation, and improves the efficiency of healthcare data management. The proposed system was developed and assessed based on cost, security, and performance metrics. To verify its effectiveness, a prototype smart contract was deployed and tested on the Ethereum TESTNET network within a Windows environment. The results confirm that the system is secure, efficient, and scalable, offering a reliable framework for decentralized health data management while addressing critical concerns of privacy, security, and data integrity.