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The Self-Sovereign Patient as a Cornerstone of Healthcare 4.0
Tomer Jordi Chaffer1, Joe Littlejohn2, Arun Nadarasa3
1Faculty of Law, McGill University, Quebec, Canada.
Blockchain in Healthcare Today
|February 2, 2026
Summary
Healthcare 4.0 empowers patients with technologies like AI and blockchain, enabling self-sovereign health data control. Addressing challenges in data rights, ethics, and access is crucial for equitable, personalized care.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Health Informatics
- Patient Empowerment
Background:
- The shift towards patient-centric healthcare models in Healthcare 4.0.
- Empowerment of individuals through technologies like blockchain, Internet of Medical Things, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Emergence of the Self-Sovereign Patient concept, emphasizing control over health data and care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the implications of Healthcare 4.0 technologies on patient data ownership and control.
- To identify challenges and opportunities in the transition to patient-centric healthcare.
- To examine the role of AI in augmenting care delivery and addressing workforce burdens.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of Healthcare 4.0 technologies and their impact.
- Review of existing literature on patient data control, blockchain, AI, and IoMT.
- Discussion of ethical, legal, and institutional barriers.
Main Results:
- Technologies enable new forms of data ownership, interoperability, and personalized care.
- Significant challenges include blockchain immutability vs. data erasure rights, digital inheritance, and ethical concerns (consent, monetization, equity).
- Institutional barriers like clinical integration, data governance, and digital access disparities pose risks.
Conclusions:
- Responsible AI deployment can augment care and reduce workforce strain.
- Realizing the vision requires coordinated efforts in clinical, technical, legal, and ethical domains.
- Development of trustworthy, privacy-preserving systems is essential for transparency and accountability.
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