hOCBS: A privacy-preserving blockchain framework for healthcare data leveraging an on-chain and off-chain system design

• Published in: Information processing & management Vol. 58; no. 3; p. 102535
• Main Authors: Miyachi, Ken, Mackey, Tim K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Blockchain; Computation; Computer architecture; Cryptography; Data integrity; Data management; Data processing; Data storage; Digital currencies; Distributed ledger technology; Health care; Health informatics; Healthcare; Information management; Management systems; Modular construction; Privacy; R&D; Research & development; Secure computation; Sovereignty; Systems design; Privacy; Blockchain; Data storage; Distributed ledger technology; Healthcare; Secure computation; Health informatics
• ISSN: 0306-4573; 1873-5371
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ipm.2021.102535

•We assess the use of on-chain and off-chain storage and computation for blockchain.•Our proposed blockchain framework maps to different forms of healthcare data.•The framework is designed to be patient-centric, prioritizing user data stewardship.•Aim is to establish a privacy-preserving blockchain solution to liberate healthcare data. In the context of blockchain technology, “off-chain” refers to computation or data that is structurally external to the blockchain network. Off-Chain Blockchain Systems (OCBS) enable this information processing and management through distributed software architecture where the blockchain network interacts with off-chain resources. Hence, OCBS are a critical data governance component in the design of enterprise blockchain solutions, resulting in extensive research and development exploring the interplay between on-chain and off-chain storage and computation and efforts to evaluate their performance relative to other information management systems. Key features of OCBS’ are their ability to improve scalability, reduce data storage requirements, and enhance data privacy, all extremely critical issues to enable broader blockchain adoption. These OCBS features map well to the needs of the healthcare industry, particularly due to the need to manage various types of medical, consumer, and other health-related data. However, different types of health data are also subject to stringent regulatory, security and legal requirements, a key factor limiting blockchain adoption in the sector. In response, there is a critical need to better align OCBS design features to different types of healthcare data management and their respective governance and privacy regimes. This article first reviews the characteristics of different constructs of OCBS. It then proposes a modular hybrid privacy-preserving framework leveraging off-chain and on-chain blockchain system design applied to three different reference models that illustrate how blockchain can enhance healthcare information management. Through this privacy-preserving framework we hope to liberate healthcare data by enabling sharing, sovereignty and enhanced trust.