Securing Healthcare Data: Leveraging Blockchain for Electronic Health Records

Abstract

The expanding use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) has been a game-changer in healthcare data accessibility and patient care. The privacy, data security, and interoperability problems in traditional EHR systems are also major concerns. The integration of blockchain and mobile cloud computing presents a great potential solution. In combination with blockchain's decentralized and immutable properties, data security can be enhanced through cryptographic techniques and can ensure the availability of a patient's health records on demand from any place using mobile cloud computing. This paper reviews the existing research on blockchain-based EHR sharing platforms and their capabilities of addressing healthcare security, privacy, and efficiency challenges. The research explores the use of smart contracts for automatic access control, and privacy-preserving encryption, and integrates decentralized storage solutions like Interplanetary File System (IPFS). Despite the advantages of blockchain technology, challenges remain, including scalability issues and the lack of compatibility between artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain systems. Future research should shift its focus toward overcoming these barriers and implementing solutions that better reflect real-world practices. This paper proposes that blockchain-powered mobile cloud computing has the potential to revolutionize EHR management by enabling secure, patient-centered, peer-to-peer data sharing, although numerous challenges still need to be addressed for widespread adoption.