E-health System Security Issues and Block chain technology in Kenya
By Caroline Boore,
carolboore@gmail.com
Muranga.Njihia,
njihia@uonbi.ac.ke
XN Iraki,
wniraki@uonbi.ac.ke
Vera Obonyo,
vera.obonyo@ksg.ac.ke
VM Mutiso
mutiso@uonbi.ac.ke.
Abstract:
The adoption of e-health is, amongst other things, seen as potential leverage in responding to
problems concerning the healthcare sector globally. Technological advancements have
accelerated the deployment of ehealth systems with the potential to enhance productivity, lower
costs, reduce medication errors, and ease the manpower strain on the healthcare industry. Faced
by a confluence of onerous challenges including escalating healthcare costs, ageing populations
and the advance of technology as well as the need to provide effective and efficient healthcare
services, developing countries today are turning to ehealth as the silver bullet or panacea.
However, despite the significant investments made, to date, many of these e-health solutions have
yet to prove their success. Interoperability and security of ehealth systems are cited as some of
the challenges in regard to the usage of the systems. By analyzing existing literature using
scoping review research approach this paper explored the potential use of blockchain
technology in improving the security and interoperability of ehealth systems for the benefit of
different stakeholders in the healthcare sector in developing countries such as Kenya. To achieve
our main objective, five databases were searched and 184 papers screened for inclusion. As a
result of the search and screen process, we identified 23 relevant articles.
Keywords: Blockchain, ehealth, Interoperability, Security
1. Introduction
In recent years, the proliferation of mobile computing devices has driven a revolutionary change
in the computing world, where ICTs have been adopted for purposes of sharing healthcare
expertise across the world. In the healthcare sector the implementation of ICT is perceived as the
main driving force in the unfolding healthcare reforms in many developed and developing
countries [10]. It is perhaps not an overstatement to state that among the most pressing problems
confronting nations today such as poverty and climate change, the health and well-being of
populations is of central importance and consumes significant national resources [2]. Developing
countries including Kenya bear the brunt of the non communicable diseases. These countries are
under pressure to offer quality healthcare services in the midst of shortage of skilled healthcare
professionals. E-health systems a key component of medical informatics symbolizes potential
solutions for enhanced healthcare. E-health is referred to as the cost-effective and secure use of
ICT in support of health and health-related fields, including health care services, health
surveillance, health literature, and health education, knowledge and research [20]. It consists of
ICT applications that boost disease prevention, timely patient diagnosis, and enhanced patient
management [2], [10]. Primarily these applications include electronic Medical Records (EMRs),
Telemedicine, Health Knowledge Management, Consumer Health Informatics (CHI), M-Health
IEEESEM
IEEE-SEM, Volume 8, Issue 12, December-2020
ISSN 2320-9151 1
Copyright © 2020 IEEE-SEM Publications