This chapter outlines the role of blockchain in fastening the healthcare research and empowering patients to control the privacy of their health data in addition to avail a secured regular health monitoring tool. The chapter also deals with fundamental challenges, issues of blockchain, and research outset of blockchain in the field of the healthcare information security.

Chapter Contents:

• 14.1 Introduction
• 14.2 Blockchain: how it works?
• 14.3 The general architecture of blockchain integrated healthcare data management system
• 14.4 Privacy and integrity of healthcare data: challenges and issues of utilizing blockchain
• 14.4.1 Design improvements
• 14.4.2 Data storage requirements
• 14.4.3 Data privacy and protection
• 14.4.4 Communication scalability-based healthcare systems
• 14.5 Healthcare data management: scope for tightening security offered by blockchain
• 14.5.1 Technical advancement in the fundamental principles of blockchain
• 14.5.1.1 Consensus model
• 14.5.1.2 Authentication
• 14.5.1.3 Distributed consensus-based on network scenario
• 14.5.2 Ethereum
• 14.5.2.1 Ethereum architecture
• 14.5.2.2 Ethereum account
• 14.5.3 Hyperledger
• 14.6 Potential uses of blockchain technology in healthcare industry
• 14.6.1 Prescription and supply tracking of narcotics drugs
• 14.6.2 Flexible data exchange between parties
• 14.6.3 Patient controlled healthcare services
• 14.6.4 Learning ecosystem development for decision making
• 14.6.5 Digital identification of the patient
• 14.6.6 Insurance claims reimbursements
• 14.7 Future research directions of utilizing blockchain in healthcare
• 14.8 Summary
• References

Inspec keywords: medical information systems; health care; cryptocurrencies; data privacy

Other keywords: healthcare research; healthcare information security; health data privacy; healthcare information privacy

Subjects: Biology and medical computing; Data security; Medical administration