Health Data Exchange governed by Ledger Systems with Secure Distributed Storage Mechanisms

Abstract

The rapid advancement of digital technologies in healthcare has increased the need for secure, transparent, and efficient management of medical data. However, most existing systems rely on centralized architectures, where sensitive patient information is controlled by a single authority. This creates vulnerabilities such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and single points of failure, which can compromise data integrity and patient privacy. The core problem addressed in this research is the lack of a decentralized and tamper-resistant mechanism for managing Electronic Health Records (EHR). Current solutions often suffer from limited transparency, inefficient data sharing between patients and doctors, risks of data manipulation, dependency on intermediaries, and scalability issues due to large medical files like reports and prescriptions. To address these challenges, this research proposes a blockchain-based healthcare management system integrated with the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS). Blockchain technology, implemented using Ethereum and Web3, ensures secure, immutable, and transparent transaction handling through smart contracts. IPFS is used for decentralized storage of medical files, with only cryptographic hashes stored on the blockchain to reduce storage overhead while maintaining data integrity. The system enables patients to book appointments, upload medical reports, and securely share them with doctors. Doctors can access records, provide diagnoses, and generate prescriptions, which are also stored via IPFS and linked to the blockchain. This ensures that data cannot be altered without detection, enhancing trust. The proposed system improves data security, privacy, reliability, and scalability in healthcare data management.