SmartMedChain: A Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Smart Healthcare Framework

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Health Informatics
• Cybersecurity

Background:

• Internet of Things (IoT) adoption accelerates healthcare digital transformation.
• Smart healthcare (s-healthcare) offers innovative patient care but faces security and privacy challenges.
• Centralized data management in s-healthcare leads to trust, accountability, and control issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• Propose an end-to-end Blockchain-based and privacy-preserving framework for s-healthcare data sharing.
• Address security and privacy concerns in managing medical IoT and Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
• Enhance trustworthiness, accountability, and control in s-healthcare environments.

Main Methods:

• Developed SmartMedChain, a framework utilizing Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for encrypted data storage.
• Implemented smart contracts for integrated data access control and usage auditing.
• Introduced a Privacy Agreement Management scheme for monitoring service execution against patient preferences and privacy laws.

Main Results:

• SmartMedChain provides a feasible and efficient solution for s-healthcare data sharing.
• The framework effectively combines data access control and usage auditing for diverse s-healthcare data.
• The Privacy Agreement Management scheme enhances stakeholder accountability.

Conclusions:

• Blockchain and IPFS integration offers a robust solution for secure and private s-healthcare data sharing.
• SmartMedChain effectively mitigates security and privacy risks associated with digital healthcare transformation.
• The proposed framework supports compliance with privacy regulations and patient preferences.