Privacy-aware efficient blockchain-based registration and verification system for vaccinated patients

Abstract

Healthcare systems are known to process large quantities of medical data almost daily, thereby increasing the risk of data being manipulated, stolen, or counterfeited. However, the global pandemic outbreak as a result of the Covid-19 virus has illuminated some of the present healthcare systems’ limitations in responding to emergencies involving public health. With many governments rolling out vaccines and issuing vaccination-proof certificates globally, there has been an increase in counterfeit certification from unauthorized parties, making registering and verifying difficult. Therefore, this research study conducted a comprehensive literature review and employed the design science research methodology to design and develop an approach as a viable solution. A privacy-aware, secure vaccination management system was proposed to address the current challenge. The system utilizes blockchain smart contracts to save the details of the patient. Moreover, the stored data is encrypted using symmetric encryption, and the proposed system allows verification of the certificate using a quick response code. Furthermore, we implemented the same system and integrated it with the traditional relational database to compare the effectiveness of the system running on it and the blockchain environments. Apache JMeter and Hyperledger Caliper were used to carry out a series of simulations to measure the performance and effectiveness of the solution. Evaluation parameters such as throughput, latency, response time, and the average time per transaction were used to assess the blockchain-based system's performance. The results indicate that the average response time was 132.24 ms, the throughput recorded 379.89 ms, the average latency recorded 204.60 ms, and the average time of transactions recorded was 10-12 seconds for 1000 transactions. Moreover, when comparing blockchain-based systems against the traditional database system, the results show that the traditional database is efficient in processing transactions but lacks data privacy and security strengths. In conclusion, this study strongly recommends integrating blockchain technology with the healthcare system to enhance the privacy and security of data being handled by healthcare systems and critical information systems.