A DECENTRALIZED PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD APPLICATION

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

the degree

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

By

Poorva Patil (BE -49)

Preity Patil (BE- 50)

Riddhi Patil (BE- 51)

Shruti Thakur (BE- 64)

Supervisor

Ms. Poonam Pathak

Department of Information Technology

MES Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology, Rasayani

University of Mumbai
(AY 2023-2024)
 Mahatma Education Society’s
Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology,
Rasayani-410207
2023-24

Certificate
This is to certify that the Mini Project “A DECENTRALIZED PERSONAL HEALTH
RECORD APPLICATION” is a bonafide work of Poorva Patil (49), Preity Patil (50),
Riddhi Patil (51), Shruti Thakur (64) submitted to the University of Mumbai in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of “Undergraduate” in
“Information Technology”.

(Ms. Poonam Pathak)

Supervisor

Internal Examiner External Examiner

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our gratitude to our project guide Ms. Poonam Pathak, who provided us
with all the guidance and encouragement. We are also thankful to her for providing us
the needed assistance, and detailed suggestions to do the project. We also would like to
deeply express our sincere gratitude to the Project coordinators. We are eager and glad
to express our gratitude to the Head of IT Department. Dr. Divya Chirayil for her
approval of this project. We would like to deeply express our sincere gratitude to our
respected principal Dr. J.W. Bakal and the management of Pillai HOC College of
Engineering and Technology for providing such an ideal atmosphere to build up this
project.

Thanking You,

Poorva Patil

Preity Patil

Riddhi Patil

Shruti Thakur
 ABSTRACT

MedRec is a revolutionary decentralized personal health record application that leverages

blockchain technology and smart contracts to create a transparent and community-driven
PHR system. In recent years, there has been a growing concern regarding the security,
accessibility, and ownership of personal health records (PHRs). Traditional PHR systems are
often centralized, leaving sensitive medical data vulnerable to breaches and exploitation.
Moreover, individuals lack control over their own health information, leading to privacy
concerns and hindering the seamless exchange of data between healthcare providers. This
decentralized personal health record (DPHR) system is built on blockchain technology to
address these challenges. DPHR empowers individuals by giving them full ownership and
control over their health data while ensuring privacy, security, and interoperability.

Keywords: Blockchain technology, decentralized system, personal health record

systems, Electronic health records.
 CONTENTS

Abstract i

Acknowledgments ii

List of Figure iii

1 Chapter-01
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Literature Survey
1.3 Motivation
1.4 Problem Statement
1.5 Objectives
1.6 Scope

2 Chapter-02 15

2.1 System Design & flow diagram

2.2 Details Of Hardware & Software
2.3 Technology and tools
2.4 System methodology and architecture

3 Chapter-03 17

3.1 System Implementation

3.2 snapshots
3.3 code
4 Chapter-04 22

4.1 Conclusion
4.2 Future Scope
4.3 Benefits / advantages

5 Chapter-05 23

5.1 References
 List of Figures

Figure Figure Name Page

No. No.

Figure 1. System flow diagram 14

Figure 2. System architecture 18

Figure 3. Home page 23

Figure 4. Doctor’s dashboard 23

Figure 5. Patient’s dashboard 24

Figure 6. Confirmed transaction with metamask 24

Figure 7. Prescription page 24

1. Chapter 01

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Blockchain is a decentralized and public digital ledger that records transactions on many
computers so that no record involved can be altered retroactively without altering any blocks
afterward. The distributed Blockchain ledger architecture ensures that data is not processed
in any centralized venue, making it accessible and accountable to all network users. This
decentralized system avoids a single attack, strengthening and securing the system. It
facilitates better control of health records and patient care by minimizing twice the amount
of medical practice and monitoring, saving both practitioners and patients time and
resources. The patient will watch where their information goes and achieve it by keeping
health records on a blockchain. The aim of this application is firstly to implement blockchain
technology for EHR and secondly to provide secure storage of electronic records by defining
granular access rules for the users of the proposed framework. Moreover, this framework
also discusses the scalability problem faced by blockchain technology in general via the use
of off-chain storage of the records. Develop an intuitive and user-friendly interface that
empowers individuals to actively engage in managing their health records, including features
such as appointment scheduling, medication tracking, and real-time health monitoring. This
framework provides the EHR system with the benefits of having a scalable, secure, and
integral blockchain-based solution.

Keywords: Blockchain, personal health record systems, Electronic health records,

Metamask.
1.2 LITERATURE SURVEY

[1] An Islam and S Young, “A blockchain-based secure healthcare scheme with the
assistance of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Internet of things,” Computers &
Electrical Engineering, vol. 84, Article ID 106627, 2020. : This paper introduces a
blockchain-based secure healthcare scheme in which health data (HD) are collected from
users via an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and stored on the nearest server. Upon
successful validation, the UAV transmits the HD to the nearest server to store it securely in
the blockchain. A security analysis is discussed to show the feasibility of the proposed
secure healthcare scheme.

[2] A Tandon, A Dhir, A. K Islam, and M Mantymaki, “Blockchain in healthcare: a

systematic literature review, synthesizing framework, and future research agenda,”
Computers in Industry, vol. 122, Article ID 103290, 2020. : This study presents a
systematic literature review (SLR) of research on blockchain applications in the healthcare
domain. The review incorporated 42 articles presenting state-of-the-art knowledge on current
implications and gaps pertaining to the use of blockchain technology for improving
healthcare processes. The SLR findings indicate that blockchain is being used to develop
novel and advanced interventions to improve the prevalent standards of handling, sharing,
and processing of medical data and personal health records.

[3] S Tanwar, K Parekh, and R Evans, “Blockchain-based electronic healthcare record

system for healthcare 4.0 applications,” Journal of Information Security and
Applications, vol. 50, Article ID 102407, 2020. : This paper proposes an Access Control
Policy Algorithm for improving data accessibility between healthcare providers, assisting in
the simulation of environments to implement the Hyperledger-based electronic healthcare
record (EHR) sharing system that uses the concept of a chain code.
1.2.1 LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING SYSTEM
1. Future research could focus on the potential adoption and infusion of smart contracts in
healthcare. This might improve customer service through more efficient information
exchange between stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem.
2. Secondly, since privacy and information security play a pivotal role in healthcare, we
advocate policy and service development-oriented research to further safeguard users’
privacy and the information stored in blockchain-based systems. In particular, future
research could focus on designing protocols for managing private cryptographic keys for
network nodes. This could ensure authenticated use of private keys and avoid data breaches
due to mismanagement of keys.
3. There is a need to advance the conceptual knowledge of blockchain applications for specific
issues, such as diagnostics, biometric authentication, and continual monitoring of senior
patients.

1.3MOTIVATION

Medical records need innovation. In the age of online banking and social media, patients are
increasingly willing, able, and desirous of managing their data on the web and on the go.
However, proposed systems must also recognize that not all provider records can or should
be made available to patients and should remain flexible regarding such record-onboarding
exceptions. This work explores a blockchain structure with its backend based on a
peer-to-peer network using Ethereum for its data storage and a smart contract for its data
logic. Medical Records are data with sensitive information, and hence using DAPPS with
smart contracts ensures safety features such as Zero Downtime (i.e. the data associated with
a patient is always ready to be fetched and updated), Privacy (A Patient's data should be
secured and of limited accessibility to only the people closely associated with the patient),
complete data integrity.

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 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND SOLUTION
Currently, the hospitals use traditional methods to store critical medical data of the patients
and that data is indirectly subject to various attacks and thefts. Patients leave data scattered
across various jurisdictions as life events take them away from one provider’s data to
another. In doing so, they lose easy access to past data, as the provider, not the patient,
generally retains primary stewardship. Patients thus interact with records in a broken manner
that reflects the nature of how these records are managed. Patients with a huge medical
history across many hospitals should not have to keep their history in the form of huge
Patients and providers may face significant hurdles in initiating data retrieval and sharing
due to economic incentives that encourage “health information blocking”. In digital health
records in a centralized system, data sharing and privacy preservation are big challenges
since medical data is sensitive. Our MedRec blockchain implementation seeks to solve this
vast fragmentation of patient data by bringing it together and organizing it in the form of a
ledger while providing it with the benefits provided by blockchain and DAPPs. This
decentralized application aims to solve the problem of unfair compensation and limited
transparency in the traditional medical field by providing a decentralized application that is
secure, private, and where doctors are given a dependable way to maintain patient privacy
while storing information about medical history.

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 1.5 OBJECTIVES

1. Data Ownership Empowerment: Enable individuals to assert ownership and control

over their health records, allowing them to decide who can access their data and for what
purposes.

2. Privacy Preservation: Ensure the confidentiality and privacy of personal health

information through robust encryption techniques and user-centric data access controls.

3. Security Enhancement: Leverage blockchain technology to create a tamper-proof and

secure infrastructure for storing and managing health records, mitigating the risk of data
breaches and unauthorized access.

4. Interoperability Promotion: Facilitate seamless data exchange between healthcare

providers, systems, and applications by adhering to industry-standard interoperability
protocols such as HL7 FHIR.

5. User-Centric Design: Develop an intuitive and user-friendly interface that empowers

individuals to actively engage in managing their health records, including features such as
appointment scheduling, medication tracking, and real-time health monitoring.

6. Decentralized Identity Management: Implement a decentralized identity management

system to enhance security and eliminate the reliance on centralized intermediaries for
identity verification.

7. Auditability and Accountability: Establish an immutable audit trail of all transactions

within the DPHR ecosystem to ensure accountability, transparency, and trust among
stakeholders.

8. Innovation Facilitation: Drive innovation in healthcare research and service delivery by

enabling secure and ethical access to anonymized health data for scientific purposes.

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 1.6 SCOPE
Blockchain technology is incorporated into the healthcare industry, in which specific
challenges would have to be addressed. Blockchain applications are still in the early stages
and must do more work for technology exploration and research. The time has come for the
health sector to improve. Blockchain in the field of healthcare is very likely to expand in the
future. Its applications in healthcare will improve with this technological innovation as it
helps explain the outcomes and progress in the treatment process. In the upcoming days,
with the consent of the network members, transactions can be authenticated and registered
using Blockchain technologies. Blockchain will provide numerical security by public and
private key encryption to the patient's level as the foundation of a new generation of health
information sharing. This technology promises to treat patient records, infringement
prevention, interoperability improvement, rationalization procedures, medication and
prescription control, and medical and supply chain monitoring. Blockchain in healthcare is
seen with a tremendous performance in the future.

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 2. Chapter 02
2.1 SYSTEM DESIGN

2.1.1 SYSTEM FLOW DIAGRAM

Figure 1: System flow diagram

1. Define Requirements:
Functional requirements (features, data types, user interactions)
Non-functional requirements (security, scalability, interoperability)
2. Research and Analysis:
Understand Existing Systems: Study existing centralized health record systems and their
limitations. Analyze decentralized technologies such as blockchain, IPFS, and their
applicability.

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 3. Conceptual Design:
Define Architecture: Decide on the architecture (blockchain-based, IPFS, or hybrid).
Determine the role of each component (UI, decentralized storage, smart contracts,
identity management).
Data Model: Define the structure of health records.
Identify data attributes and relationships.
4. Detailed Design:
Component Design: Design UI wireframes/mockups.
Specify APIs for communication between the frontend and backend.
Design smart contracts (if applicable) for access control and data sharing.
Data Management: Plan data encryption and decryption mechanisms.
Define data storage and retrieval processes.
5. Security Design:
Threat Modeling: Identify potential security threats (data breaches, unauthorized access).
Assess the impact and likelihood of each threat.
Security Controls: Implement encryption techniques for data at rest and in transit.
Design access control mechanisms using smart contracts or encryption keys.
Incorporate authentication and authorization processes.

6. Scalability Design:
Scalability Considerations: Assess scalability requirements based on expected user base
and data volume.
Design a scalable architecture using techniques like sharding or distributed storage.
7. Interoperability Design:
Standards Compliance: Ensure compatibility with healthcare interoperability standards
like FHIR.
Design APIs for seamless integration with existing healthcare systems.
8. User Experience Design:
UX/UI Design: Design intuitive user interfaces for patients and healthcare providers.
Incorporate features for easy navigation, search, and data visualization.

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 2.2 DETAILS OF HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

HARDWARE SPECIFICATION
Processor : 13 Processor above.
Ram : 4GB.
Hard Disk : 500GB.
Input device : standard keyboard and mouse.
Output device : VGA and high-resolution monitor.

SOFTWARE SPECIFICATION
Operating system : windows.
Programming Language : JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Solidity
IDE : VS Code, PyCharm

16
2.3 TECHNOLOGY AND TOOLS :
● Solidity : Solidity is a programming language for implementing smart contracts on
various blockchain platforms, most notably, Ethereum. Solidity is licensed under GNU
General Public License v3.0
● JavaScript (React & Testing): JavaScript is popular among other languages in
blockchain development as it has the ability to interact with web3 libraries, which are
used to interact with Ethereum and other blockchain networks.
● Truffle : Truffle is a development framework for building decentralized applications
(DApps) on the blockchain, specifically on the Ethereum network. It provides tools and
libraries to simplify development, including smart contract creation, testing, deployment,
and management.
● Ganache (Ethereum blockchain environment) : Ganache is a personal Blockchain for
Ethereum development that can be used for testing smart contracts and DApps in a
sandbox environment.
● Metamask : MetaMask is a software cryptocurrency wallet used to interact with the
Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to access their Ethereum wallet through a browser
extension or mobile app, which can then be used to interact with decentralized
applications.

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 2.4 SYSTEM METHODOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE :

Figure 2: System Architecture

Blockchain Infrastructure: Implement a blockchain-based decentralized ledger system to

store and manage health records securely. Utilize consensus mechanisms to ensure data integrity
and immutability.
User Authentication and Access Control: Develop a robust authentication mechanism
using cryptographic keys to grant access to individuals' health records. Employ multi-factor
authentication for enhanced security.
Data Encryption: Encrypt health records using advanced encryption algorithms to protect
sensitive information from unauthorized access. Ensure that only authorized parties with
decryption keys can access the data.
Smart Contracts: Utilize smart contracts to automate and enforce access control policies.
Define rules for data access, sharing, and consent management, allowing patients to specify
who can access their health records and under what conditions.
Interoperability Standards Compliance: Adhere to industry standards such as HL7 FHIR

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 to ensure interoperability with existing healthcare systems and facilitate seamless data
exchange between different healthcare providers and applications.
User Interface: Design an intuitive and user-friendly interface for patients to access and
manage their health records. Provide features such as appointment scheduling, medication
tracking, and health data visualization to enhance user experience.
Decentralized Identity Management: Implement decentralized identity management using
blockchain-based digital identities. Enable patients to maintain control over their digital
identities and authenticate themselves securely without relying on centralized authorities.
Audit Trail and Transparency: Record all transactions related to health records on the
blockchain to create an immutable audit trail. Ensure transparency and accountability by
allowing patients and authorized parties to track access and usage of health data.

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 3. Chapter 03

3.1 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

1. Architecture:
User Interface (UI): Frontend application for users to interact with the system.
Decentralized Storage: Utilize distributed ledger technology (like blockchain) or
decentralized storage systems (like IPFS) for storing health records.
Smart Contracts (optional): For executing predefined rules and logic in a decentralized
manner.
Identity Management: Handles user authentication and permission management.
Encryption & Security: Ensures data privacy and security throughout the system.
Interaction Flow:
➢ Users interact with the UI to access and manage their health records.
➢ Upon request, the UI communicates with the backend services for fetching,
updating, or adding health records.
➢ The backend interacts with decentralized storage to store and retrieve health
records securely.
➢ Identity management services handle user authentication and permissions.
➢ Smart contracts, if used, execute predefined logic for access control or data
sharing.

2. Data Model:
Health Record Structure:
Patient Information: Name, date of birth, gender, etc.
Medical History: Previous illnesses, surgeries, allergies, medications, etc.
Diagnostic Reports: Lab test results, imaging reports, etc.
Treatments: Details of treatments received, prescriptions, etc.

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 3. Security & Privacy:
Techniques:
Encryption: All health records should be encrypted before storing them in the
decentralized storage.
Access Control: Utilize smart contracts or access control lists to manage who can
access specific health records.
Data Minimization: Only necessary information should be stored, and sensitive data
should be anonymized whenever possible.
Consent Management: Implement mechanisms for patients to control and revoke
access to their health records.

4. Interoperability:
Standards:
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources): Use FHIR standards for ensuring
interoperability with existing healthcare systems.
Blockchain Standards: If using blockchain, adhere to standards like HL7's blockchain
standard.
5. Scalability:
Decentralized Infrastructure: Utilize the distributed nature of blockchain or
decentralized storage for scalability.
Sharding: Distribute data across multiple nodes to improve performance and
scalability.

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 3.2 Snapshot

Figure 3. Homepage

Figure 4. Doctor’s dashboard

22
 Figure 5. Patient’s dashboard

Figure 6.Confirmed transaction with Metamask

Figure 7 : Prescription page

23
 3.3 code

24
 4. Chapter 04
4.1 CONCLUSION

There are innovative applications of Blockchain in healthcare due to inherent encryption and
decentralization. It enhances the security of patients' electronic medical records, promotes
the monetization of health information, improves interoperability among healthcare
organizations, and helps counterfeit combat medicines. Different healthcare fields can
change with Blockchain technology; areas like healthcare, and digital agreements allowed by
intelligent contracts constitute one of Blockchain's most critical applications. By removing
intermediaries from the payment chain, intelligent contracts will minimize costs. The
Blockchain potential in healthcare depends significantly on the adoption of associated
advanced technologies in the ecosystem. It includes system tracking, healthcare insurance,
medicines tracing, and clinical trials. Hospitals can chart their services using a Blockchain
framework, even over the entire life cycle, using device tracking. Blockchain technology can
well be used to improve patient history management, especially tracking and the insurance
mediation process, thereby accelerating clinical actions with optimized data maintenance.
Overall, this technology would significantly enhance and eventually revolutionize how
patients and physicians treat and use clinical records and improve healthcare services.

4.2 Future Scope

A blockchain, in which records are maintained in a linked sequence of blocks, has made it
feasible to create and deploy new programs based on a distributed and decentralized
ideology rather than traditional cloud-based apps. The present smart contract will be
extended to improve the lookup and provide the advanced features required by an EHR
administration system. Future development would most likely aim at providing a real-time
video conference communication feature. In this COVID-19 outbreak, it is highly
recommended.
Another possibility is that the payment module will eventually be integrated into the existing
architecture. This can be accomplished via a decentralized architecture based on blockchain
technology, in which a patient pays for a specialist’s consultation with a credit or debit card.
In the event of verification, the NID number can be included.

25
 With the introduction of Ganache, we now have the opportunity to experiment with a similar
technique utilizing a private blockchain. It will involve enhancing lookup and supporting the
extra capabilities required by an EHR management solution. In addition, there will be a
comparison of present and future methodologies.

4.3 BENEFITS
1. Individuals have complete ownership and control over their health data, empowering
them to make informed decisions about who can access their information and for what
purposes.

2. Utilizing blockchain technology and advanced encryption techniques ensures the

confidentiality and security of personal health information, mitigating the risk of data
breaches and unauthorized access.

3. DPHR promotes interoperability by facilitating seamless data exchange between

healthcare providers, systems, and applications, leading to more coordinated and efficient
care delivery.

4. With user-friendly interfaces and intuitive tools for managing health records, DPHR
encourages active patient engagement, leading to better health outcomes and patient
satisfaction.

5. By streamlining data access and exchange processes, DPHR reduces the administrative
burden on healthcare providers, allowing them to focus more on patient care.

6. Eliminating the reliance on centralized identity management systems enhances security

and reduces the risk of identity theft and fraud.

7. The immutable audit trail provided by blockchain technology ensures transparency and
accountability, fostering trust among patients, healthcare providers, and other
stakeholders.

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 5. Chapter 05

5.1 REFERENCES

[1] An Islam and S Young, “A blockchain-based secure healthcare scheme with the
assistance of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Internet of things,” Computers & Electrical
Engineering, vol. 84, Article ID 106627, 2020.

[2] A Tandon, A Dhir, A. K Islam, and M Mantymaki, “Blockchain in healthcare: a

systematic literature review, synthesizing framework, and future research agenda,”
Computers in Industry, vol. 122, Article ID 103290, 2020.

[3] G Tripathi, M. A Ahad, and S Paiva, “S2HS- A blockchain-based approach for the smart
healthcare system,” Healthcare (Amsterdam, Netherlands), vol. 8, no. 1, Article ID 100391,
2020.

[4] S Tanwar, K Parekh, and R Evans, “Blockchain-based electronic healthcare record

system for healthcare 4.0 applications,” Journal of Information Security and Applications,
vol. 50, Article ID 102407, 2020

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