CONNECTED HEALTH

Connected Health is an Internet based electronic application through which individuals can access, manage and share their health information.
It allows people to access and coordinate their lifelong health information and make appropriate parts of it available to those who need it in an authorized, private, secure and confidential environment.
People can use their heath records as a communications hub: to send email to doctors, transfer information to specialists, receive test results and access online self-help tools. The individual person is the primary user of the Connected Health platform.
Other potential users are “stakeholders” who – when then primary user of the platform gives his/her permission – can make valuable use of the information being kept in the personal health record. Keywords: ConnectedHealth, EMR, PHR, EMRonBlockchain …

 

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    Abstract:

    Connected Health is an Internet based electronic application through which individuals can access, manage and share their health information.
    It allows people to access and coordinate their lifelong health information and make appropriate parts of it available to those who need it in an authorized, private, secure and confidential environment.
    People can use their heath records as a communications hub: to send email to doctors, transfer information to specialists, receive test results and access online self-help tools. The individual person is the primary user of the Connected Health platform.
    Other potential users are “stakeholders” who – when then primary user of the platform gives his/her permission – can make valuable use of the information being kept in the personal health record. Keywords: ConnectedHealth, EMR, PHR, EMRonBlockchain.

    1. Introduction

    Personal Health Record (PHR) offer an integrated and comprehensive view of health information, including information people generate themselves such as symptoms and medication use, information from doctors such as diagnoses and test results, and information from their pharmacies and insurance companies. Individuals access their PHRs via the Internet, using state-of-the-art security and privacy controls, at any time and from any location. Family members, doctors or school nurses can see portions of a PHR when necessary and emergency room staff can retrieve vital information from it in a crisis. PHR connects each of us to the incredible potential of modern health care and gives us control over our own information.Information is the currency of modern health care. Knowing one’s family background, history of diagnoses and procedures, test results and medications and diet and exercise habits is essential to managing health, assessing problems, and preventing medical error.

    Preamble

    Information is the currency of modern health care. Knowing one’s family background, history of diagnoses and procedures, test results and medications and diet and exercise habits is essential to managing health, assessing problems, and preventing medical error. Today medical information is scattered among the many health care providers people see throughout their lives. It is stored in individual memories, on scraps of paper and in spreadsheets on personal computers. Some doctors and hospitals keep computerized medical records, but most personal health information is stored in thick paper files that line office walls. These paper-based systems are often disorganized, illegible, prone to error, difficult to transfer from provider to patient or specialist and they usually do not include information contributed by patients. In the paper-based world of medical records, there is no coordinated system, no standardized, private and secure way to integrate anyone’s health information in one place. A visit to a new doctor means new forms to complete, new tests to run and new conversations reviewing personal medical history — conversations that depend almost entirely on memory alone. People need effective tools to help them manage their health and Health care.

    1.1. Existing Complexities

    Emergency room personal need to be able access a patient’s health records when necessary. Caregivers can be more effective in helping a loved one manage their care if they have access to a heath record. With worldwide electronic access to one’s personal health information, it raises both privacy and security concerns. The person-centric nature of health records poses some issues for data integrity. The sources of data in the health records must be identified and the system must include mechanisms for correcting errors or inconsistencies. It’s a maze, having the perfect solution to all the above problems may not necessary be useful. When you lose your conscious or barely able to move or speak, you can’t expect history to be recited by you or your care taker to the life saver. Moreover, the health records may initially be available to more affluent patients and those affiliated with advanced integrated health systems.

    Health Record System using Blockchain [1]

    1.1.1. Health organization direct information to the blockchain

    • Health organizations provide services to patients
    • Clinical data is tracked in existing health IT systems
    • Standard data fields and a patient’s public ID are redirected to the blockchain via APIs

    1.1.2. Transactions are completed and uniquely identified

    • Smart contract processes incoming transactions
    • Each transaction is stored onto the blockchain containing the patient’s public (non-identifiable) ID

    1.1.3. Health Organizations and Institutions can directly query the blockchain

    • Health organizations and institutions submit their queries via APIs
    • Non-identifiable patient information (ex. age, gender, illness) is viewable
    • Data can be analysed to uncover new insights

    1.1.4. Patients can share their identity with health organization

    • The patient’s private key links their identity to blockchain data
    • The private key can be shared with new health organizations
    • With the key organizations can then uncover the patient’s data
    • Data remains non-identifiable to those without the key

    2. Solution Architecture

                                                                                                    Blockchain Model for Health Care
     

    Fig. 1. The user has singular control over his data and the power to grant access to specific health care providers and/or health care entities for communication and collaboration in disease treatment and prevention. The decentralized nature of the blockchain combined with digitally signed transactions ensure that an adversary cannot pose as the user or corrupt the network as that would imply the adversary forged a digital signature or gained control over most of the network’s resources.

                                                                                                  Architecture or Flow Diagram
     

    Fig. 2. UI is built on a hybrid technology to bring out the omni-channel experience. APIs are built using NodeJS and NEM is being used for storing transactions on the Blockchain Platform

    Benefits of using Blockchain for HealthCare

     

    Following points lists out the benefits of using a blockchain based solution for our personal health records.
    • Improved privacy protection and greater control over personal data
    • Increased efficiency in compliance control, quality and monitoring
    • Rapid onboarding and improved customer experience
    • Privacy by design – immutable chain of evidences
    • Zero knowledge proof algorithms to protect data
    • Distributed system to avoid central point of failure and recovery
    • Blockchain strengthens data integrity and patient digital identities
    • Blockchain supports frictionless connectivity, supported by smart contracts and consistent authorization to access electronic health information
    • The blockchain transaction layer could enable access to a rich set of standardized, non-patient identifiable information

    References

    1. Blockchain opportunities in healthcare by RJ Krawiee, Principal consultant – Deloitte’s Strategy Consulting practice
    2. Scalable and secure sharing of personal health records in cloud computing using attribute-based encryption by Naveena N – B.T.L Institute of Technology