A consent-aware electronic medical records sharing method based on blockchain

Electronic medical records (EMRs) sharing has become a vital component of the modern health care system, which involves patients, The Medical Institution with Medical Records (MI-MR), and The Medical Institution Requiring Medical Records (MI-RMR) within this ecosystem. Currently, a substantial amount of research focuses on the security, authenticity, and privacy of the shared information. However, there is a shortage of attention on design and research that adequately reflect personal rights and interests of patients. We propose a consent-aware EMR sharing method leveraging blockchain technology, which not only preserves patients’ right to be informed, but also fulfills the fundamental needs for security and privacy in EMR sharing. Furthermore, it ensures transparency and decentralization in the sharing process and incorporates on-chain verification mechanisms against malicious alteration of blockchain data. To enhance system scalability, a secure off-chain storage mechanism has been implemented. Our experimental findings underscore the practicality of our smart contract on Ethereum, along with its economic benefits, evaluated using tests conducted on a Ganache-based Ethereum blockchain network and a Remix-based Ethereum blockchain network. The performance and advantages of the proposed architecture have been corroborated through a prototype implementation using Ethereum. •Personal rights and interests of patients are often overlooked in current EMR sharing research.•Proposed a consent-aware EMR sharing method using blockchain technology to enhance security, privacy, and transparency.•Experimental validation of smart contracts on Ethereum demonstrates practicality and economic benefits.