Health-zkIDM: A Healthcare Identity System Based on Fabric Blockchain and Zero-Knowledge Proof

Abstract

The issue of identity authentication for online medical services has been one of the key focuses of the healthcare industry in recent years. Most healthcare organizations use centralized identity management systems (IDMs), which not only limit the interoperability of patient identities between institutions of healthcare, but also create isolation between data islands. The more important matter is that centralized IDMs may lead to privacy disclosure. Therefore, we propose Health-zkIDM, a decentralized identity authentication system based on zero-knowledge proof and blockchain technology, which allows patients to identify and verify their identities transparently and safely in different health fields and promotes the interaction between IDM providers and patients. The users in Health-zkIDM are uniquely identified by one ID registered. The zero-knowledge proof technology is deployed on the client, which provides the user with a proof of identity information and automatically verifies the user’s identity after registration. We implemented chaincodes on the Fabric, including the upload of proof of identity information, identification, and verification functions. The experiences show that the performance of the Health-zkIDM system can achieve throughputs higher than 400 TPS in Caliper.

Blockchain and Healthcare: A Critical Analysis of Progress and Challenges in the Last Five Years

“…As an illustration, Celesti et al [62] suggest a blockchain-based healthcare workflow to enable effective and secure data sharing among medical laboratories in federated hospital IoT clouds, benefiting telemedicine and patient care. Furthermore, Bai et al [63] present a healthcare identity system based on Fabric blockchain and zero-knowledge proofs, ensuring secure and private interactions within the IoT-based healthcare ecosystem. Additionally, Rana et al [64] focus on developing a decentralized access control model using blockchain and AI to guarantee secure interoperability of healthcare systems within the IoT infrastructure, facilitating seamless data exchange while enforcing stringent access control policies.…”

The Hyperledger fabric as a Blockchain framework preserves the security of electronic health records

“…Ledger Fabric-based techniques show limitations in validating all transactions with backing nodes ( 47 ). The consensus algorithm of the HF framework can be optimized to carry a large amount of transactional data.…”

zk-DASTARK: A quantum-resistant, data authentication and zero-knowledge proof scheme for protecting data feed to smart contracts

“…However, the drawback of this solution is, that it requires a trusted setup to be established before its application. Tianyu et al [30] in 2023 proposed Health-zkIDM, a decentralized identity verification system, leveraging zero-knowledge proof and blockchain technology to address the limitations of centralized healthcare identity management systems. It enhances patient identity sharing across healthcare institutions, mitigating data isolation and privacy risks.…”