A Review of Blockchain-Based Secure Sharing of Healthcare Data

Abstract

Medical data contains multiple records of patient data that are important for subsequent treatment and future research. However, it needs to be stored and shared securely to protect the privacy of the data. Blockchain is widely used in the management of healthcare data because of its decentralized and tamper-proof features. In order to study the development of blockchain in healthcare, this paper evaluates it from various perspectives. We analyze blockchain-based approaches from different application scenarios. These are blockchain-based electronic medical record sharing, blockchain and the Internet of Medical Things and blockchain-based federal learning. The results show that blockchain and smart contracts have a natural advantage in the field of medical data since they are tamper-proof and traceable. Finally, the challenges and future directions of blockchain in healthcare are discussed, which can help drive the field forward.