Unified Blockchain-Based Electronic Dental Record Ecosystem for Secure Data Exchange

Electronic Dental Records (EDRs) provides a solid ground for enhancing data exchange in the field of dentistry. Implementing blockchain technology into EDRs permits decentralization and easy collaboration among dental clinics and laboratories, eventually improving data security and the data exchange processes across various organizations. Traditional EDR systems that exist nowadays face challenges related to data security, integrity, and interoperability, which can affect effective collaboration and comprehensive patient care. To mitigate these issues, the research community is actively looking at blockchain technology as a viable solution due to its decentralized, secure, and transparent nature. Our research work introduces a blockchain-based system that enables dentists to securely store patient EDRs on the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. Our study aims to enable secure sharing of patient data between different organizations, prioritizing patient consent. By utilizing both off-chain and on-chain storage for various types of data, including text, images, and radiographs, and by implementing smart contracts, we ensure the storage of data securely and ease the communication between organizations for sharing of data between them.