A blockchain-based framework for electronic medical records sharing with fine-grained access control

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Security
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Electronic medical records (EMRs) face challenges in secure verification, preservation, and synchronization.
• Decentralized sharing of EMRs is crucial for privacy preservation and mitigating risks associated with random data dissemination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a secure and privacy-preserving distributed electronic medical record searchable scheme.
• To leverage blockchain and smart contract technology for enhanced EMR data management and sharing.

Main Methods:

• Implemented a scheme using blockchain for data integrity and authenticity via hash calculation.
• Utilized the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for encrypted EMR storage, reducing blockchain load.
• Employed Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts for decentralized keyword search functionality.
• Integrated attribute-based encryption (ABE) to enforce access policies for data decryption.

Main Results:

• The proposed scheme ensures the integrity and authenticity of EMRs through blockchain hashing.
• Decentralized storage on IPFS and blockchain indexing efficiently manage large volumes of EMR data.
• Smart contracts enable secure, third-party-independent keyword searches on encrypted EMRs.
• Attribute-based encryption effectively controls access, ensuring only authorized users can decrypt records.

Conclusions:

• The developed scheme provides a secure and efficient solution for distributed EMR management.
• Blockchain and smart contracts offer a robust framework for enhancing privacy and security in healthcare data sharing.
• The system addresses limitations of centralized data storage and improves accessibility while maintaining confidentiality.