Patient-Centric Interoperability and Cybersecurity for Cross-Border Healthcare

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Cybersecurity
• Blockchain Technology

Background:

• Web 3.0 emphasizes user data ownership.
• Decentralized Identity Documents (DID documents) offer quantum-resistant digital identities.
• Cross-border healthcare data exchange faces challenges in security and patient consent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a blockchain-based system for managing patient identities and consent for cross-border healthcare.
• To integrate Decentralized Identity Documents (DID documents) with the International Patient Summary (IPS) standard.
• To enhance secure and efficient access to patient health information across different healthcare providers.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing Decentralized Identity Documents (DID documents) for patient identity management.
• Implementing a blockchain to store identity evidence and access rules.
• Leveraging the International Patient Summary (IPS) standard and HL7 FHIR for data structuring and retrieval.
• Employing DIDComm for secure messaging and SOS services.

Main Results:

• A proposed system architecture for secure cross-border healthcare data sharing.
• Patient control over access rules for their health data is established.
• Integration of quantum-resistant digital identities with healthcare data standards.

Conclusions:

• Blockchain and DID documents provide a secure, patient-centric framework for cross-border healthcare.
• The proposed system enhances data accessibility while maintaining patient privacy and consent.
• This approach aligns with Web 3.0 principles of user data ownership and security.