Block-HPCT: Blockchain Enabled Digital Health Passports and Contact Tracing of Infectious Diseases like COVID-19

Abstract

Due to its significant global impact, both domestic and international efforts are underway to cure the infection and stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading further. In resource-limited environments, overwhelmed healthcare institutions and surveillance systems are struggling to cope with this epidemic, necessitating a specific strategic response. In this study, we looked into the COVID-19 situation and to establish trust, accountability, and transparency, we employed blockchain's immutable and tamper-proof properties. We offered a smart contract (SC)-based solution (Block-HPCT) that has been successfully tested to preserve a digital health passport (DHP) for vaccine recipients; also, for contact tracing (CT) we employed proof of location concept, which aids in a swift and credible response directly from the appropriate healthcare authorities. To connect on-chain and off-chain data, trusted and registered oracles were integrated and to provide a double layer of security along with symmetric key encryption; both Interplanetary File System (IPFS) and Hyperledger Fabric were merged as storage center. We also provided a full description of the suggested solution's system design, implementation, experiment results, and evaluation (privacy and cost analysis). As per the findings, the suggested approach performed satisfactorily across all significant assessment criteria, implying that it can lead the way for practical implementations and also can be used for similar types of situations where contact tracing of infectious can be crucial.

Development and Testing of the Smart Healthcare Prototype System through COVID-19 Patient Innovation

“…During the COVID-19 epidemic, information security concerns about data breaches plagued the healthcare industry. Blockchain technology not only accelerates the adoption of electronic health records but also ensures that systems are resistant to malicious cyber-attacks [ 21 , 24 , 28 ].…”

Large-scale real-life implementation of technology-enabled care to maximize hospitals' medical surge preparedness during future infectious disease outbreaks and winter seasons: a viewpoint

“…Furthermore, telemedicine has been investigated in disease surveillance in rural areas, where delays in disease recognition and intervention can lead to the uncontrolled spread of infectious diseases, or to the more rapid prediction of failure of installed therapy in such areas ( 41 – 43 ). Finally, blockchain-enabled digital health passports have been proposed for use in situations where contact tracing of infectious patients can be crucial ( 44 ).…”

Blockchain and IIoT Enabled Solution for Social Distancing and Isolation Management to Prevent Pandemics

“…On the other hand, BDD technology has also emerged during the pandemic to locate the zones of infected patients and track their movements to identify high-risk zones and enforce lockdown decisions [29]. The recent research on blockchain-enabled digital health passports and contact tracing (Block-HPCT) is also explored in this article, emphasizing the use of smart contracts for trust management, transparency, and security of the records [30]. Practitioners are also proposing blockchain-driven contact tracing solutions to ensure privacy and trust among entities.…”