A SURVEY ON SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS THROUGH BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

Electronic health records (EHRs) are a digitized method of storing patient medical data in secure storage, allowing both the patient and the health provider the ability to access the information and expedite the diagnostic process. EHRs can contain the history of patent medical data such as laboratory test medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, etc. The implementation of EHRs lends a hand in the improvement and enhances the quality of health care. Despite the numerous benefits offered by EHRs, there are certain security issues related to EHR technology. Some potential issues and problems that might happen are data breaches, identity theft, insider theft, and lack of encryption of patient data. The current research aims to enhance EHRs through the integration of blockchain technology, to improve and address the issues related to EHRs aiming to improve the overall security and integrity of EHRs. The objective of this chapter is to deliver a comprehensive understanding of EHRs as well as blockchain technology and offer the reader insight into the benefits and the issues concerned with EHRs.