A novel architecture for enhancing Electronic Health Record interoperability: A Blockchain-based approach

Healthcare has been improved by information and communication technologies. Electronic health records are one of the critical drivers of this transition. Moreover, the number of records on personal health grows exponentially with the rise of mobile and omnipresent computing. This trend is characterized by wearable computing technology and various kinds of sensors related to health domain. Results in need of an automated data storage method that healthcare professionals and patients can use. There is currently no trusted medical data sharing and storage system in the chain of health value. Therefore, no platform is used to track the traceability of patients across the entire healthcare chain. Our goal is to create an integrated view based on interoperability principles that will collect such data from patients' medical records, based on the use of sensors from different wearable devices and other sources. The data collected is consolidated into a single electronic health records system, where the patient is the owner of data by interconnecting multiple healthcare providers. This strategy offers improved privacy advantages while ensuring safe access to medical records for patients. The original paper contributes to the description of uniting the entire medical value chain, the design of the system architectural model, the creation of system components, and the validation through a proof of concept (PoC). The PoC can show the feasibility of data exchange between health care professionals and incorporating the health records of heterogeneous sources like health care systems and sensors.