Description
The proposed project, HL-Health, aims to develop a secure and compliant solution for managing and exchanging medical records using the Hyperledger system. The increasing use of electronic health records has led to the need for a solution that can handle the secure storage, transmission, and validation of sensitive medical information. This project will leverage the Hyperledger ZPK system to address these challenges and provide a secure and compliant solution for managing medical records.
The overall objective of HL-Health is to create a framework that enables individual hospitals, clinics, and networks to launch their own ledgers for managing patient records, while still unifying their data. The project will include the development of a secure solution for managing medical records, a public key replacement mechanism, a bridging app to interface with existing healthcare systems, and security measures to prevent sensitive data theft and Man-in-the-Middle attacks. The implementation of the Decentralized Identities (DID) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards will also be considered to ensure the compatibility and exchange of medical data across different healthcare systems.
The implementation path for HL-Health will involve conducting a thorough analysis of the requirements, designing a solution that meets these requirements, and implementing the solution using Hyperledger technology. The solution will be tested and evaluated to ensure that it meets the project's objectives, and the results will be used to refine and improve the solution. The project will also include the mentorship of a new contributor, who will be guided and supervised by experienced mentors throughout the project. The outcome of the project will benefit the Hyperledger open source community by providing a secure and compliant solution for managing medical records.
Additional Information
https://github.com/hapifhir/hapi-fhir
https://github.com/google/fhir
https://github.com/LinuxForHealth/FHIR
https://github.com/microsoft/fhir-server
https://github.com/smart-on-fhir/client-py
https://github.com/IntelliSOFT-Consulting/LHSS-CBDHS-HIE
https://github.com/i2b2
https://github.com/ppazos/cabolabs-ehrserver
https://github.com/ehrbase/ehrbase
https://github.com/ehrbase/fhir-bridge
Learning Objectives
• Design and implementation of secure and compliant solutions for managing medical records using Hyperledger technology.
• Understanding of Hyperledger's privacy solutions and tools, including zero-knowledge proofs and other privacy technologies.
• Development of skills in designing and implementing secure solutions for data privacy and protection, including public key replacement mechanisms, bridging apps, and security measures to prevent data theft and Man-in-the-Middle attacks.
• Exposure to the implementation of standards such as Decentralized Identities (DID) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) and their role in ensuring data compatibility and exchange across different healthcare systems.
• Understanding of the overall process of contributing to an open source project, including project management, code development, testing, and documentation, and hands-on experience contributing to a real-world open source project.
Expected Outcome
• A design and/or basic implementation of a secure and compliant solution for managing medical records using the Hyperledger framework, incorporating the Hyperledger ZPK system and other privacy solutions.
• A design and/or basic implementation of a public key replacement mechanism for handling cases where private keys are compromised.
• A proof-of-concept (PoC) bridging app that demonstrates interfacing with existing healthcare systems and infrastructure.
• A detailed technical report documenting the design and implementation of the solution, including the privacy mechanisms and security measures put in place to protect sensitive data.
• Status reports and presentations as required.
• A prototype and demonstration of the solution that showcases its capabilities and demonstrates secure storage and transmission of medical records, as well as the integration with existing systems with the use of standards (i.e., DID and FHIR).
Relation to Hyperledger
This mentorship project is related to Hyperledger Fabric. The solution being proposed focuses on the development of a secure and compliant solution for managing medical records using the Hyperledger ZPK system, which is part of the Hyperledger Fabric framework. The implementation of the solution will involve the use of Hyperledger Fabric's privacy solutions and tools, including zero-knowledge proofs, to ensure the privacy and protection of sensitive medical data. Additionally, the solution will be integrated with existing healthcare systems and infrastructure through the development of a bridging app, and will adhere to standards such as Decentralized Identities (DID) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to ensure compatibility and data exchange with other healthcare systems.
Mentee Skills
• Strong understanding of blockchain technology and distributed systems.
• Familiarity with Hyperledger Fabric, including its privacy solutions and tools such as zero-knowledge proofs.
• Knowledge of Decentralized Identities (DID) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards.
• Experience with developing applications for secure data storage and transmission.
• Strong experience with software development, including proficiency in languages such as Go, Java, or Node.js.
• Familiarity with cloud deployment and management, including the use of tools like Hyperledger Bevel.
• Understanding of security best practices and experience with implementing security measures to prevent data breaches and other security threats.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills.
• Good communication skills, both written and oral, and the ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• A background in healthcare (PhD Biomedical Science, former NIH training fellow).
• A background in computer science, engineering, and related fields.
Mentee Open Source Contribution Experience
Top 10 contributor to RustSec project (https://github.com/rustsec/rustsec/graphs/contributors).
Future plans
1. Building out digitization solutions: Once the basic infrastructure for managing medical records is in place, the next step could be to explore digitization solutions to help hospitals and clinics bring their existing records into the new system. This could involve developing tools to help with data entry, data mapping, and data validation, among other things.
2. Managed cloud/deployment services: With the digitization solutions in place, the next step could be to explore managed cloud and deployment services to help hospitals and clinics adopt the solution more easily. This could include offering managed hosting, managed database services, and managed infrastructure services to help customers get started quickly and with minimal hassle.
3. Developing additional features and functionalities: As the solution evolves and becomes more widely adopted, there may be opportunities to develop additional features and functionalities to meet the evolving needs of hospitals and clinics including AI/ML and deep learning capabilities. This could involve developing new modules for data analysis, data visualization, or workflow management, among other things.
4. Establishing partnerships and collaborations: To continue building momentum and growing the solution, it will be important to establish partnerships and collaborations with other organizations, such as healthcare providers, software vendors, and technology companies. This could involve working together on joint development projects, integrating with existing systems, or exploring new use cases and market opportunities.