Toward Secure Storage in Cloud-based eHealth Systems: A Blockchain-Assisted Approach

Cloud-based eHealth systems enable patients and medical institutions to manage their EHRs in a flexible and efficient way. Since EHRs are the most sensitive data for people and have significant value to adversaries, outsourced EHRs suffer from both internal and external threats. In this article, we first identify the threats toward the security of outsourced EHRs and present system and security criteria that a secure cloud-based eHealth system should achieve. Then we provide a blockchain-assisted eHealth framework for securing outsourced EHRs that meets the identified criteria. We also show a case study where the blockchain technology is applied to ensure the security of outsourced EHRs. Finally, we discuss several promising issues and research directions on blockchain-assisted secure EHRs in cloud-based eHealth systems.