Healthcare domain has emerged as one of the most preferred use cases of IoT and its related technologies. However, its widespread adoption is still a distant dream. The primary reason behind this is the security and privacy of the data and the participating entities. To overcome this, blockchain technology has emerged as a convenient means to improve the security and privacy of the data and its users. With the deluge of medical data generated through electronic medical records and other ICT based mechanisms, blockchain has found innumerable opportunities in the healthcare domain. The traditional healthcare systems are radically adopting modern day technologies for transitioning into the smart healthcare ecosystems. The convenience of the users and ease of use are the primary factors driving this transition. Even with smart healthcare systems (SHS) there exist numerous challenges and issues related to the security, transparency and privacy of the data and users. This paper explores the technological and social barriers in adoption of SHS by analyzing state-of-the-art expert views and user's perception. It further proposes a blockchain based SHS framework to provide intrinsic security and integrity of the system. Finally, the future research directions and use cases of blockchain in healthcare domain are discussed.
Keywords: Blockchain; Electronic medical records; Healthcare; Internet of Things; Sensors; Smart healthcare system.
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