NFC based secure mobile healthcare system

With the recent increase in usage of mobile devices especially in developing countries, they can be used for an efficient healthcare management. In this work, we have proposed a novel architecture for improving healthcare system with the help of Android based mobile devices with NFC [1] and Bluetooth interfaces, smartcard technology on tamper resistant secure element (SE) for storing credentials and secure data, and a HealthSecure service on a hybrid cloud for security and health record management. The main contribution of this paper is proposal of applications for i) Secure Medical Tags for reducing medical errors and ii) Secure Healthcard for storing Electronic Health Record (EHR) based on Secure NFC Tags, mobile device using NFC P2P Mode or Card Emulation Mode. We have also briefly mentioned a basic security framework requirement for the applications. Since NFC NDEF format is prone to security attacks [2], we have utilized low level APIs on Android based mobile devices, to securely access NFC tags such as MIFARE Classic tags with NFC-A (ISO 1443-3A) properties. Simple touch of NFC enabled mobile devices can benefit both the patient as well as the medical doctors by providing a robust and secure health flow. It can also provide portability of devices and usability for health management in emergency situation, overpopulated hospitals and remote locations.