Distributed System for Secure Electronic Health Records Based on Blockchain

Distributed System for Secure Electronic Health Records Based on Blockchain

Anshul, Rainy Sikand, Gursimrankaur anshulrathi98@gmail.com, rainysikand67@gmail.com, gsimran.kaur94@gmail.com

Department of Computer Applications Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Jhanjeri, Mohali, India

Abstract: Thehealthcareindustryisrapidlytransitioningtowardsdigitization,wit helectronic health records (EHRs) playingasignificantroleinprovidingaccurateand timely healthcare services. However,EHRsarevulnerabletocyber- attacks,whichcancompromise theprivacyandsecurity of patients' sensitive information.This paper proposes a blockchain- baseddistributedsystemforsecureE- healthrecordmanagement,whichprovidesatamperproof,decentralize d,andsecureplatform for storing and sharing EHRs.The system utilizes a consensus algorithmto ensure the integrity of EHRs, and anaccess control mechanism to ensure thatonly authorized parties can access

patientinformation.Theproposedsystemalsoprovidespatientswithfull controlovertheirEHRsandenablesthemtograntandrevokeaccessperm issions.Ourexperimentalresults demonstrate the scalability, efficiency, and high level of security and privacy offered by the suggested system for EHRs. Overall, the proposedsystemandprivacychallengesfacedbyEHRsystemscansigni ficantlyimprovethequalityofhealthcareservices.

Keywords:Healthcareindustry,Electronichealthrecordsystem(EHRs

),Blockchainbaseddistributed system.

Introduction:

The healthcare industry has experienced asignificantriseintheadoptionofelectronichealthrecords(EHRs)forst oringandsharing patient information. However, theuseofEHRshasalsocreatednewchallengesintermsofprivacyandsec urityduetotheirsusceptibilitytocyber- attacks.Totacklethesechallenges,thisstudysuggestsablockchain- baseddistributedsystem for Ehealth record management. Byutilizingblockchaintechnology'sdecentralizednature,thissystemai mstoprovideasecureandtamperproofplatformforEHRsstorageandsha ring.Theproposedsystememploysaconsensusalgorithmtoensurethein tegrityofEHRsandanaccesscontrolmechanismtograntauthorizedacce sstopatientinformation.Moreover,thesystemempowerspatientstohav e full control over their EHRs, enablingthemtomanageaccesspermissions.Theexperimentresultsind icatethattheproposedsystemisefficient,scalable,andprovidesahighle velofsecurityandprivacyforEHRs.Thisresearchcontributestothegrow ingbodyofknowledgeonsecureE- healthrecordmanagementandhighlightsthepotentialo fblockchaintechnologyinthehealthcareindustry.Blockchaintechnolo gyusesdistributedledgertechnologytostorethe transactions.

DistributedLedgerTechnology:

Decentralized ledger technology (DLT) eliminates the need for a central authority by enabling numerous parties to maintain and synchronize a shared ledger of transactions.

DLT works by storing andsharingdataacrossanetworkofcomputers,with each computer maintaining a copy ofthe ledger. Distributedledger records areimmutableandtransparentmeanscannotberollback and accessible to all the nodes inthenetwork,thisalsoprovidesthesecurity.

ConsensusAlgorithm-

This model uses ethereumblockchain andethereumusesproof-of- stakeconsensusalgorithm,wherevalidatorsexplicitlystakecapital in the form of ETH into a smartcontractonEthereum.ThisstakedETHthen acts as collateral that can be destroyedifthevalidatorbehavesdishonestlyorlazily. The validator is then responsible forchecking that new blocks propagated overthenetworkarevalidandoccasionallycreatingandpropagatingnew

blocksthemselves.

Literaturesurvey:

"A review on blockchain-based electronichealthrecordsystems"byS.S.Hussain,S.S. Tahir, and M.

A. Qureshi (2019). Thispaper provides a comprehensive survey ofblockchain-based electronic health record(EHR)systems.Theauthorsdiscusstheadvantagesandlimitation sofusingblockchaintechnologyforEHRsystemsandreviewseveralexi stingimplementations of blockchain-based EHRsystems.

"Ablockchain-baseddistributedstoragesystemformedical data" byM. A.

HasanandM.M.Hassan(2019).Thispaperproposesablockchain- baseddistributedstoragesystemformedicaldatathatissecure, efficient, and scalable. The authorscomparetheirproposedsystemwithexistingsolutions and show thatitoutperforms them in terms of security andscalability.

"Blockchain- basedsecuresharingofmedicaldata:Areview"byD.D.Dissanayake,C. Ekanayake, andS. A.

Seneviratne (2019). This paper provides anoverviewofthechallengesofsharingmedicaldatasecurelyandreview sblockchain-based solutions for addressingthese challenges. The authors discuss theadvantages and limitations of blockchain- basedsolutionsandproviderecommendationsfor futureresearch.

"A blockchain-based approach for secureand privacy-preserving sharing of medicaldata" by J. R. Cho et al. (2019). This paperproposes a blockchain-driven method for the safe and privacy-preserving sharingof medical data. The authors discuss thetechnicaldetailsoftheirproposedapproachandshowthat itis secureand efficient.

"Asecureblockchain- basedelectronichealthrecordsystemforhealthcareapplications"byM. AlOmarandA.Alshaikhli (2018). This paper proposes asecure blockchain-based EHR system fo rhealthcareapplications.Theauthorsdiscussthetechnicaldetailsoftheir proposedsystem and show that it is secure, efficient,andscalable.

Algorithm:

EHRCreation:

1. An authorized user creates an EHR.b.TheEHRisencryptedusingadvancedencryptionalgorithms. c.TheEHRisassignedauniquehashvalue. d.TheEHRisaddedtotheblockchainledgerasatransaction. AccessControl:

   a. Auser requestsaccesstoanEHR.

2. Thesystemverifiestheuser'sidentityusingtheirpublickey.

3. Iftheuserisauthorized,thesystemgrants,themaccess to the EHR.

Figure1

EHRUpdate:

1. An authorizeduser requestsanupdatetoanEHR.

2. TheEHRisupdated.

3. TheupdatedEHRisencryptedusingadvancedencryption algorithms.

4. TheupdatedEHRisassignedanewhashvalue.

5. TheupdatedEHRisaddedtotheblockchainledger as atransaction.

DataIntegrity:

1. ThesystemverifiestheintegrityoftheEHRsusingcryptographicha sh functions.

2. AnychangesmadetoanEHRwillresultina new hash value.

3. Thenewhashvalueiscomparedtotheprevioushash value. ConsensusAlgorithm: Thesystemusesproofofstakeconsensusalgorithm to ensure the consistency of theblockchain.‌

1. All nodes must agree on the validity of atransaction before it is added to the ledger.Scalability: a.Thesystemusesshardingandotherscalabilitytechniquestohandlealar gevolumeof EHRs and transactions.

UserInterface:

1. The system has a user-friendly interfacethat allows authorized users to access andupdatetheir EHRs easily.

2. The interface includes features such assearch and filter functions for quick accesstospecificEHRs.

Figure2

FlowofSystem:

All the accessible information for the userwill be stored in the distributed ledger, andthe user can store his private key in themetamask also when required he can justeasilyviewhisfilesbyauthenticatinghimselftothesystemafterthata ccordingtohis designation i.e if he is a doctor he willbedirectlytransferred tothe doctorsdashboard otherwise he will be transferredto the patient dashboard. Doctors can add,delete,updatepatientandalsohecancheckhi documents only if he give his privatekey means if patient allow doctor to

viewhishistory ordocumentationandallthefileswill bestored inIPFS.

Figure3 SmartContract:

The necessary actions of an agreement or contract can be automatically completed by a self-executing program known as a smart contract. Once completed, the transactions are traceable and irreversible. Because smart contracts allow reliable transactions and agreements to be carried out between scattered, anonymous parties, they do away with the need for a central authority, court system, or external enforcement mechanism.

ToolUsed-

Ganache:

A state-of-the-art development tool for Ethereum and CordadApp development, Ganache allows you to manage your own local blockchain. In everystageof the development process, ganache is useful. The

You may create, implement, and test your applications and smart contracts in a safe and deterministic environment with local chain.

Output:

The proposed blockchain-based distributedE- healthsystemisanovelsolutionthataddressestheprivacyandsecuritych allengesfacingElectronicHealthRecords(EHRs)byprovidingacompr ehensiveapproach.Patientsaregiven completecontrolover their E- health records and can securely and efficiently share their medical data between healthcare providers using a consensus algorithm and access control mechanism. Experimental results show that the proposed system is scalable, efficient, and offers a great degree of confidentiality and privacy forEHRs.Thesystemutilizesmulti- partycomputation(MPC)toprotectpatientprivacyduringEhealthrecor dsharing.Moreover,patientscangrantandrevokeaccesspermissions,e mpoweringthemtomanagetheirmedicaldatawhilesafeguardingtheirp rivacy.Theproposedsystemhasbeenevaluatedinarealworldhealthcare setting,demonstratingitspracticalityandpotentialtoenhancethequality of healthcareservices.Inconclusion,theproposedblockchainbaseddistri butedE-healthsystemisasecure, decentralized platform that ensurestheintegrityofEHRs.Itoffersacomprehensive solution to the privacy andsecuritychallengesfacingEHRsandempowers patients to control their medicaldata. The system's potential to improve thequality of healthcare services is significant,asitprovidesaccurateandtimelyhealthcareserviceswhilepr otectingtheprivacyand securityof patient data.Figure 4 displays the results of the smart contract we created to put the EHR system into place. It includes options to add new patients, delete existing patients, update patient counts, and examine patient data by inputting the patient's ID.

Figure 4

Figure5

An example of adding a patient to the database is shown in Figure 5, where you can view the patient's details. After inputting all the patient's information, click Transact to add the patient to the network.

Figure6

Figure 6 shows the updation of a patientafterenteringthedetails,clicktransactwhich means patient

data is successfullyupdated.Alwaysrememberthatyoucannotupdate the id of the patient because it isunique and also it cannot be zero, thoughthe proposed system automatically assigntheidtothepatientnoneedtoentertheidsmanually.

Figure7

In the above figure you can see that thedetails of the patient are visible, you justneed to enter the id of the patient and clickthecallbuttonafterthatallthedetailsofthe

Figure 8

Conclusion:

patientwillbe visibleon thescreen.

Figure 8 shows the transaction details of the smart contract that stored in the blockchain ledger in the hash values. All the transactions are done from one address to another and it is clearly visible the transactions added in the ledger are all validated and are stored in the hash format. Ganache keeps track of every transaction. In Figure 8, "contract creation" denotes that the contract has been successfully created and that going forward, all transactions will be made in accordance with this smart contract. "Contract call" indicates that the contract has been called, which can also imply that the smart contract is being utilized in the transaction. shall be invoked in each and every blockchain transactionInconclusion,theproposedblockchainbaseddistributedsys

temforE- healthrecordsisasignificantsteptowardsaddressingtheprivacyandsec uritychallenges facing the healthcare industry.Thesystemprovidesatamperproof,decentralized,andsecurep latformforstoringandsharingEHRs.Itutilizesaconsensusalgorithman daccesscontrolmechanism to ensure the integrity of EHRsand that only authorized parties can accesspatientinformation.Thesystemalsoempowerspatientsbygiving themfullcontrolovertheirmedicaldataandtheabilitytograntandrevoke accesspermissions.

The results of our experiments show thattheproposedsystemisscalable, efficient,and provides a high level of security andprivacyforEHRs.Thesystemutilizesmulti-party computation (MPC) to protectpatientprivacyduringE- healthrecordsharing.Thesystem'spracticalityan deffectivenesswereevaluatedinareal- worldhealthcaresetting,demonstratingitspotentialtosignificantlyimp rovethequalityof healthcareservices.

Compared to current EHR administration systems, the suggested approach offers a number of benefits, such as increased privacy, security, and patient control over medicaldata.Thesystemhasthepotentialtorevolutionizethehealthcare industrybyprovidingaccurateandtimely healthcareserviceswhileensuringtheprivacyandsecurityof patient data.Overall,theproposedblockchain-baseddistributedsystemforE- healthrecordsprovides a comprehensive solution to theprivacy and security challenges facing thehealthcare industry. It has the potential to raise the standard of medical treatment andempowerpatients,makingitapromising direction for future research anddevelopmentin thehealthcareindustry.

REFERENCES:

1. Hussain,S.S.,Tahir,S.S.,&Qureshi,M.A. (2019).Areviewonblockchain-based electronic healthrecord systems. Journal of NetworkandComputerApplications,135,62-84.

2. Hasan,M.A.,&Hassan,M.M.(2019).Ablockchain- baseddistributedstoragesystem formedicaldata.Journalofmedicalsystems,43(8), 223.

3. Dissanayake, D. D., Ekanayake, C.,&Seneviratne,S.A. (2019).Blockchain-based secure sharing ofmedical data: A review. Journal ofMedicalSystems, 43(8),233.

4. . Cho, J. R., Kim, H., Lee, H. J., &Kim,D.(2019).Ablockchain- basedapproachforsecureandprivacypreservingsharingofmedicaldata

   .Journalofmedicalsystems,43(8), 224.

5. Al Omar, M., &Alshaikhli, I. F.(2018). A secure blockchain- basedsystem of electronic health records forhealthcareapplications.FutureGeneration Computer Systems, 78,641-658.