Leveraging Blockchain and IoT for Secure and Scalable Healthcare Innovations

Authors

  • Sedigheh Kaveh Department of Computer Engineering, Ayandehgan Institute of Higher Education, Tonekabon, Iran.
  • Fatemeh Ebrahimzadeh Department of Computer Engineering, Ayandehgan Institute of Higher Education, Tonekabon, Iran.
  • Ramin Safa * Department of Computer Engineering, Ayandehgan Institute of Higher Education, Tonekabon, Iran. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1779-1019

https://doi.org/10.22105/ahse.v2i1.27

Abstract

Blockchain is a distributed technology with the potential to revolutionize various industries. Since its introduction in 2008, it has found applications in financial transactions, online trading, smart contracts, supply chain management, and identity verification. Blockchain consists of interconnected blocks containing cryptographic data, the previous block’s hash, a timestamp, and transaction data. This structure ensures system security and prevents cyberattacks such as 51% and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Despite the widespread adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), developing a secure and privacy-compliant model remains a challenge. Integrating blockchain with IoT enhances security, scalability, energy efficiency, and data management. In recent years, electronic Health (eHealth) has gained significant attention. Healthcare applications include hospital networks, pharmaceutical supply chains, blood banks, and insurance systems. However, challenges such as patient privacy, large medical data management, and collaboration issues highlight blockchain’s importance in healthcare. Blockchain can improve security in IoT and eHealth by preventing unauthorized data manipulation. Its applications in remote medical monitoring, pharmaceutical supply chains, counterfeit drug prevention, and patient consent processes are expanding. However, challenges such as high energy consumption in Proof of Work (PoW), lack of international standards, and reluctance to share medical data hinder its adoption in healthcare. This paper reviews blockchain and IoT concepts, assessing their feasibility in healthcare. It analyzes scalability, security, and adoption challenges while proposing solutions to overcome these barriers.

Keywords:

Blockchain, Security, Internet of things, Healthcare, Patient privacy, Medical data management

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Published

2025-02-03

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2025): Annals of Healthcare Systems Engineering

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Leveraging Blockchain and IoT for Secure and Scalable Healthcare Innovations. (2025). Annals of Healthcare Systems Engineering, 2(1), 44-55. https://doi.org/10.22105/ahse.v2i1.27