Carlos Ferreira João, Elvas Luís B, Correia Ricardo, Mascarenhas Miguel
Faculty of Logistics, Molde University College, NO-6410 Molde, Norway.
Center for Research of Technologies and Architecture, Instituto Universitario de Lisboa ISCTE-IUL, ISTAR, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Oct 2;12(19):1967. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12191967.
The management and exchange of electronic health records (EHRs) remain critical challenges in healthcare, with fragmented systems, varied standards, and security concerns hindering seamless interoperability. These challenges compromise patient care and operational efficiency. This paper proposes a novel solution to address these issues by leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT), including blockchain, to enhance data security, integrity, and transparency in healthcare systems. The decentralized and immutable nature of DLT enables more efficient and secure information exchange across platforms, improving decision-making and coordination of care. This paper outlines a strategic implementation approach, detailing timelines, resource requirements, and stakeholder involvement while addressing crucial privacy and security concerns like encryption and access control. In addition, it explores standards and protocols necessary for achieving interoperability, offering case studies that demonstrate the framework's effectiveness. This work contributes by introducing a DLT-based solution to the persistent issue of EHR interoperability, providing a novel pathway to secure and efficient health data exchanges. It also identifies the standards and protocols essential for integrating DLT with existing health information systems, thereby facilitating a smoother transition toward enhanced interoperability.
电子健康记录（EHRs）的管理和交换仍是医疗保健领域的关键挑战，系统碎片化、标准各异以及安全问题阻碍了无缝互操作性。这些挑战损害了患者护理和运营效率。本文提出了一种新颖的解决方案，通过利用包括区块链在内的分布式账本技术（DLT）来解决这些问题，以增强医疗保健系统中的数据安全性、完整性和透明度。DLT的去中心化和不可变特性能够实现跨平台更高效、安全的信息交换，改善决策制定和护理协调。本文概述了一种战略实施方法，详细说明了时间表、资源需求以及利益相关者的参与情况，同时解决了诸如加密和访问控制等关键的隐私和安全问题。此外，本文还探讨了实现互操作性所需的标准和协议，并提供了案例研究以证明该框架的有效性。这项工作通过引入基于DLT的解决方案来解决EHR互操作性这一长期存在的问题，为安全、高效的健康数据交换提供了一条新途径。它还确定了将DLT与现有健康信息系统集成所必需的标准和协议，从而促进向增强互操作性的更平稳过渡。
