BPDST: Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing on Thin Client for Electronic Medical Records

Abstract

Sharing medical data can improve the quality of medical services and reduce costs. However, the current Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are scattered and easily tampered with, which is not conducive to the sharing of EMRs and is not compatible with thin clients. Fortunately, blockchain technology is tamper-proof, decentralized, auditable, and meets the above requirements. To solve these problems, we first propose Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing on Thin-Client for Electronic Medical Records (BPDST) approach that combines the k-anonymity and cloud storage, which thin clients can run like a full-node user and safeguard user's EMRs privacy concurrently. Using this approach, patients can control their own EMRs, while the consortium blockchain is responsible for the transaction process and sending the correct results to the patients. BPDST can also share information without leaking or tampering with EMRs' privacy, achieving the purpose of sharing medical data and privacy protection. In the medical field, this study can effectively protect users' privacy when sharing medical data to provide convenience for users and break the "island" phenomenon among various medical institutions. Security analysis and extensive experiments show that BPDST is secure and practical for sharing EMRs.

To cite this article: L. Xu, M. Lin, Y. Feng, and Y. Sun, “BPDST : Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing on Thin Client for Electronic Medical Records,” CIT. Journal of Computing and Information Technology, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 235–250, 2021, doi: 10.20532/cit.2021.1005412.