hChain: Blockchain Based Large Scale EHR Data Sharing with Enhanced Security and Privacy

TL;DR

This paper presents hChain, a blockchain-based framework for large-scale EHR data sharing that emphasizes security, privacy, and authenticity in IoMT-enabled smart healthcare. It couples edge-computing capabilities with a private Ethereum blockchain and RBAC-driven smart contracts, reinforced by multi-factor authentication including location verification to mitigate unauthorized access and data tampering. A key novelty is encrypting EHR data with symmetric keys for low-latency transmission, while leveraging verification nodes and public/private key signing to ensure data integrity and provenance. The approach demonstrates reduced latency, robust defense against brute-force and tampering attacks via SHA-256 hashing, and a scalable architecture suitable for real-time, patient-centric care with secure cross-organization data sharing.

Abstract

Concerns regarding privacy and data security in conventional healthcare prompted alternative technologies. In smart healthcare, blockchain technology addresses existing concerns with security, privacy, and electronic healthcare transmission. Integration of Blockchain Technology with the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) allows real-time monitoring of protected healthcare data. Utilizing edge devices with IoMT devices is very advantageous for addressing security, computing, and storage challenges. Encryption using symmetric and asymmetric keys is used to conceal sensitive information from unauthorized parties. SHA256 is an algorithm for one-way hashing. It is used to verify that the data has not been altered, since if it had, the hash value would have changed. This article offers a blockchain-based smart healthcare system using IoMT devices for continuous patient monitoring. In addition, it employs edge resources in addition to IoMT devices to have extra computing power and storage to hash and encrypt incoming data before sending it to the blockchain. Symmetric key is utilized to keep the data private even in the blockchain, allowing the patient to safely communicate the data through smart contracts while preventing unauthorized physicians from seeing the data. Through the use of a verification node and blockchain, an asymmetric key is used for the signing and validation of patient data in the healthcare provider system. In addition to other security measures, location-based authentication is recommended to guarantee that data originates from the patient area. Through the edge device, SHA256 is utilized to secure the data's integrity and a secret key is used to maintain its secrecy. The hChain architecture improves the computing power of IoMT environments, the security of EHR sharing through smart contracts, and the privacy and authentication procedures.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Healthcare Cyber-Physical System Overview.
• Figure 2: Smart Healthcare Outcomes.
• Figure 3: Smart Healthcare Architecture: Layered View.
• Figure 4: hChain System Overview.
• Figure 5: hChain System Architecture.