MedBlock: A Blockchain-Based Framework for Secure and Decentralized Medical Record Management

The modern healthcare industry faces persistent challenges related to data privacy, centralized data storage, limited interoperability, and the lack of true patient ownership over medical records. Conventional Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are typically managed by centralized institutions, which not only introduces security vulnerabilities but also restricts patients’ ability to control access to their own data. These limitations have led to increasing concerns over trust, transparency, and efficiency within healthcare information systems. This paper presents MedBlock, a decentralized application (DApp) developed to address these pressing issues by leveraging the core principles of blockchain technology—decentralization, immutability, transparency, and security. MedBlock empowers patients to take ownership of their medical information by enabling them to register personal health details, retrieve diagnosis-specific doctors, and securely share their records with healthcare professionals of their choosing. Through the use of Ethereum smart contracts, MedBlock ensures that all interactions with patient data—such as access, sharing, and updates—are recorded immutably on the blockchain, providing a verifiable audit trail and eliminating reliance on third-party data custodians. The system architecture of MedBlock is designed to be scalable and modular, making it suitable for small clinics, individual practitioners, and future integration into larger healthcare infrastructures. While the current prototype supports text-based record management, its design allows for future enhancements such as integration with off-chain storage solutions like IPFS for handling large medical files (e.g., X-rays, MRIs), as well as mobile support and interoperability with existing hospital systems through standards like HL7 and FHIR.