Abstract
In the course of digitization in healthcare, personal health records (PHRs) are handled as a key solution. Despite the indisputable benefits, the adoption of PHRs is hampered by data security and data privacy concerns. Blockchain technology offers promising potential to address these issues by enabling secure transactions of sensitive data. With regards to PHRs, the blockchain can be used to manage the access to health-related data. Besides existing generic PHR architectures, we systematically identified issues for the healthcare sector that need to be considered for the development of a PHR. We subsequently derived eight meta-requirements that were consolidated into three design principles. Within a 1-year design science research project, we developed the blockchain-secured PHR prototype, OSHealthRec, and evaluated the system in four evaluation cycles. The findings of our research are twofold. On the one hand, we contribute to the design knowledge base by presenting three design principles. On the other hand, we present the development of a real, operational blockchain-secured PHR and the findings from its continuous evaluation, which may serve as useful advice for further solutions.
Highlights
While various industries benefit from the opportunities offered by digitization, the healthcare sector continues to face challenges in implementing these in a targeted and broadly supported manner
We subsequently considered the design principles (DP) by developing the Personal health records (PHRs) OSHealthRec which manages the authorization and access rights via a blockchain and stores the data off-chain within a 1-year research project
While the advantages of PHRs are indisputable, their adoption is still hampered by data security and privacy concerns
Summary
While various industries benefit from the opportunities offered by digitization, the healthcare sector continues to face challenges in implementing these in a targeted and broadly supported manner This is important in the exchange of patients’ data, as many healthcare stakeholders rely on accurate information about previous treatments to provide the best possible care (Poston et al 2006). Personal health records (PHRs) have the potential to substantially improve communication in healthcare such that authorized stakeholders have immediate access to patient health data in real time (White and Danis 2013). This would significantly reduce misunderstandings, redundant examinations, adverse drug events and delays in treatment (Chao et al 2013). Each patient record still implies that a person is having a treatment in at least one healthcare institution
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