Enhancing Healthcare Data Integrity and Access Control Using Blockchain and Industry 5.0
Farooq Ahmed, Teng Zhou, Hazrat Bilal, Faiz Ul Islam, Rizwan Ullah, Athanasios V. Vasilakos
Abstract
The convergence of blockchain with Industry 5.0 technologies presents significant opportunities for healthcare data management; however, current systems face challenges related to scalability, privacy, and energy efficiency. This article introduces an innovative framework that leverages ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE), Ethereum smart contracts, and decentralized IPFS storage to address these challenges. The framework presents three main innovations: 1) a human-centric authentication system that ensures security without sacrificing cryptographic integrity; 2) post-quantum Kyber-786 algorithms paired with CP-ABE, which minimizes computational overhead by 27% while facilitating 32 ms key generation; and 3) an energy-efficient Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism that reduces energy consumption by 98% (0.05 kW/transaction) compared to traditional blockchain systems. Thorough testing demonstrates 99.5% resistance to man-in-the-middle attacks, a throughput of 15.6 MB/min at scale, and an emergency access latency of under 120 ms, which is essential for practical healthcare applications. By consolidating decentralized pseudo-identities for patient anonymity, secure audit logs, and GDPR/HIPAA-compliant data governance, this research establishes a new standard for secure, sustainable, and patient-focused health data ecosystems in the Industry 5.0 landscape.