Development of a Secure Decentralized Electronic Health Records System Based on Blockchain Technology

Medical institutions rely heavily on centralized systems that store patient data under single authorities, complicating access when patients change providers or locations. These systems lack transparency among multiple specialists managing a patient’s history and present vulnerabilities regarding data privacy and security, especially when handling sensitive information and large medical images such as X-rays or MRIs.

A mid-to-large healthcare organization or healthcare IT provider seeking to enhance medical data management through blockchain-based decentralization, ensuring secure, transparent, and efficient access to patient records.

• Develop a decentralized, immutable ledger for storing electronic healthcare records to enhance data integrity and transparency.
• Implement role-based, permissioned access controls for patients, physicians, and healthcare institutions to safeguard sensitive information.
• Enable patients to manage access permissions to their medical data dynamically.
• Integrate a notification system for appointment scheduling, confirmations, and reminders, including email alerts.
• Incorporate mechanisms to store and process large medical images and unstructured/semi-structured documents securely and efficiently.
• Leverage encryption and custom key generation to ensure privacy and compliance with healthcare data regulations.
• Use distributed file storage for handling large medical images and documents, ensuring data availability and scalability.

• Immutable distributed ledger for storing medical records with support for large files (images, documents).
• Role-based access control allowing patients to approve or deny data access requests.
• Physicians’ access to all medical data for their authorized patients.
• Healthcare institution oversight for tracking records and access activities.
• Notification system for appointments, including creation, acceptance, rejection, and reminders via email.
• Data encryption to ensure privacy for sensitive health information.
• Customized key generation for each participant to control permissioned data access.
• Distributed file storage integration (e.g., IPFS or equivalent) for large medical images and documents.
• Optimized chaincode to prevent data duplication and maintain data integrity.

• Existing Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems for data synchronization
• Email or messaging services for notifications and reminders
• Secure storage solutions for large medical images and documents
• Identity and access management systems if applicable

• High security with end-to-end data encryption and permissioned access
• Scalability to handle increasing number of medical records and file sizes
• Performance optimized for quick data retrieval and updates
• Traceability and auditability of all record accesses and modifications
• Compliance with healthcare privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA)

The deployment of a decentralized, transparent, and secure electronic health records system is expected to significantly improve data integrity and privacy, reduce healthcare data management complexities, and streamline patient data access across providers. Biometrics and large file handling capabilities will enable comprehensive medical histories, leading to better patient care. Overall, the solution aims to enhance trust, transparency, and operational efficiency within healthcare organizations, potentially reducing data duplication and administrative overhead.