I really don't see how any of this is going to get survivors recovered
Storing information of stroke rehabilitation patients using blockchain technology: a software study
- Journal List
- J Yeungnam Med Sci
- v.39(2); 2022 Apr
- PMC8913915
Abstract
Background
Stroke patients usually experience damage to multiple functions and a long rehabilitation period. Hence, there is a large volume of patient clinical information. It thus takes a long time for clinicians to identify the patient’s information and essential pieces of information may be overlooked. To solve this, we stored the essential clinical information of stroke patients in a blockchain and implemented the blockchain technology using the Java programming language.
Methods
We created a mini blockchain to store the medical information of patients using the Java programming language.
Results
After generating a unique pair of public/private keys for identity verification, a patient’s identity is verified by applying the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm based on the generated keys. When the identity verification is complete, new medical data are stored in the transaction list and the generated transaction is verified. When verification is completed normally, the block hash value is derived using the transaction value and the hash value of the previous block. The hash value of the previous block is then stored in the generated block to interconnect the blocks.
Conclusion
We demonstrated that blockchain can be used to store and deliver the patient information of stroke patients. It may be difficult to directly implement the code that we developed in the medical field, but it can serve as a starting point for the creation of a blockchain system to be used in the field.
Keywords: Blockchain, Information services, Patients, Rehabilitation, Stroke
Introduction
A blockchain, also called a distributed or shared ledger, is a technology through which participants jointly verify, store, distribute, and interconnect data without an authorized third party by generating data in blocks [1,2]. It allows participants to jointly record data by distributing the data to a person-to-person (P2P) network rather than to the central server of a specific organization [1,2]. Those who are permitted to see the ledger read it according to an agreed method, and the transactions are also recorded according to an agreed method. In this way, information can be stored securely without a central server, and the content can be trusted without a third-party guarantee. The applications of blockchain have been expanding to various fields including government, finance, and public data, and its use is also being explored in the medical field [3-5].
Currently, patient medical information is stored on hospital servers, and hospitals cannot easily exchange the patient information stored on such servers with other hospitals because of the risk of a privacy breach [1]. Consequently, when patients are transferred to another hospital, they need to carry their medical information from one hospital to the next. Conversely, if blockchain were used in place of servers, the information would be generated and recorded in block units and then stored on multiple nodes in a distributed manner [6]. This would make hacking practically impossible while allowing hospitals to easily and freely share patient information with other hospitals.
During the rehabilitation of a stroke patient, a large amount of data related to the patient’s condition is generated due to the long rehabilitation period [7]. Furthermore, many patients are transferred to different hospitals to receive rehabilitation treatments. When a patient moves to another hospital, the patient or their guardian must receive the printed patient care information from the old hospital and deliver it to the new hospital [1,7]. Doctors check the current and past conditions of transferred patients based on these paper records, which takes a considerable amount of time. Moreover, important pieces of information may be missed due to the large volume of information and because each hospital records patient information in its own way. We believe that blockchain can help to solve this problem.
Based on the previous study [7], we identified the essential information for stroke patients receiving rehabilitation treatment and then used private blockchain network technology to store the information of one patient through the medical information transaction process. Since the personal medical information of patients can be transferred on the network, only the participants who were authorized to use the private blockchain were allowed to write and read the patient medical information.
Methods
We created a mini blockchain to store the medical information of patients using the Java programming language. To actually run the source code written in Java, we installed the Java Development Kit and Eclipse, the most representative integrated Java development environment.
Results
The medical information transaction process is illustrated in Fig. 1.
Application of blockchain technology to medical information: patient identities are verified using the public key-based structure, and the medical records of the verified patients are connected as a chain through the hash value.
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