Enhancing Healthcare Data Privacy Using IoT and Blockchain Technology

Abstract

The adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in the healthcare sector, including wearable devices and remote patient monitoring systems, has achieved astounding IoT growth in healthcare improvement in data-driven clinical outcomes. However, this unprecedented progress has introduced critical risks related to the privacy and security of vulnerable patient health information. Traditional centralized healthcare systems and their single point of failure, unauthorized access, and data manipulation vulnerabilities are increasingly facing insurmountable challenges. Therefore, a focus on decentralized, interchangeable architectures that guarantee robust privacy while enabling seamless healthcare Big Data integration is critical. This survey explores the integration of blockchain technology with IoT-based healthcare frameworks to address privacy, integrity, and access control concerns. The application of blockchain technology, characterized by its decentralized, immutable, and transparent nature, creates an opportunity to redefine the safeguarding of EHR systems and patient identity within distributed architecture systems. The paper addresses the gaps in the existing literature by systematically reviewing the IoT- Blockchain convergence ecosystem and its gaps iterating through the discussed frameworks and deriving a formal taxonomy with identified subsumed limitations and security bottlenecks. In addition, it provides mathematical models for risk quantification, optimal system performance, and evaluation. This article seeks to construct a robust rationale for designing and developing secure, scalable, and privacy-preserving healthcare systems that use blockchain and IoT technology by addressing the gaps left in the existing literature. This work will greatly help researchers, practitioners and policy makers as they seek to develop advanced e-health frameworks that are based on strong privacy protections while ensuring ease of access and operational efficiency. Index Terms : Healthcare Data Privacy, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Electronic Health Records (EHR), Data Security, Smart Contracts, Access Control, Decentralized Systems, Homomorphic Encryption, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Edge Computing, Federated Architecture, Privacy-Preserving Technologies, Consensus Mechanisms, Secure Data Aggregation.