NikshayChain: A Blockchain-Based Proposal for Tuberculosis Data Management in India

Abstract

A recent development in the Internet of Things (IoT) has accelerated the application of IoT-based solutions in healthcare. Next-Gen networks and IoT, supported by the development of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain, have propelled the growth of e-health applications. However, there are some unique challenges in the widespread acceptance of IoT in healthcare. Safe storage, transfer, authorized access control, and the privacy and security aspects of patient data management are crucial barriers to the widespread adoption of IoT in healthcare. This makes it necessary to identify current issues in the various health data management systems to develop novel healthcare solutions. As a case study, this work considers a scheme launched by the Government of India for tuberculosis care called Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY). It is a web-based Direct Benefit Transfer scheme to provide a nutritional incentive of INR 500/- per month to all tuberculosis patients. The main objective of this work is to identify the current implementation challenges of the NPY scheme from patient and healthcare stakeholder perspectives and proposes a blockchain-based architecture called NikshayChain for sharing patient medical reports and bank details among several healthcare stakeholders within or across Indian cities. The proposed architecture accelerates healthcare stakeholder productivity by reducing workload and overall costs while ensuring effective data management. This architecture can significantly improve medical care, incentive transfer, and data verification, propelling the use of e-health applications.

Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana : receipt and utilization among persons with TB notified under the National TB Elimination Program in India, 2022

“…Similar long delays have been reported in Delhi with more than half of the PwTB receiving the first instalment during fourth and fifth month of treatment [ 31 ] and Gujarat where 34.4% PwTB received the first instalment after 6 months of treatment initiation [ 23 ]. Possible reasons for this delay could be due to the fact that bank accounts in certain rural or co-operative banks have difficulty in processing electronic transfers, re-initiating transfer after correcting bank details [ 28 ], merging of banks [ 26 ], complex formats of Ni-Kshay platform [ 36 ], technical issues due to updation and improvement of Ni-Kshay and PFMS portal [ 37 ], mismatch or rejection of bank details, unwillingness of PwTB to provide bank details [ 15 , 28 ], and more than one person using the same bank account [ 28 ], and the possible overload of NTEP staff [ 31 , 37 ]. Such delay precludes the timely utilization of the benefit by the PwTB for their nutrition.…”

Perspective Chapter: Integrating Large Language Models and Blockchain in Telemedicine

“…Smart contracts can also be leveraged to enforce data access control policies and maintain an immutable audit trail. Careful integration of these privacy mechanisms is crucial to realize the full potential of blockchain in enabling secure, privacy-preserving telemedicine systems while mitigating the associated risks [39]. By complementing the contextual analysis capabilities of LLMs with the secure data management afforded by privacy-enhanced blockchain solutions, telemedicine platforms can deliver more personalized and privacy-centric care.…”

Unveiling Roadblocks and Mapping Solutions for Blockchain Adoption by Governments: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Data privacy, quality, and integrity are significant concerns, discussed in 9 articles each. Public or opensource blockchain platforms are susceptible to tampering and security breaches, while the decentralised nature of the system exposes them to a similar threat -unauthorised data manipulation (S. Alam et al, 2021;Alsaed et al, 2021;Clavin et al, 2020;Majumdar et al, 2020;Mintah et al, 2021;Nath et al, 2021;Thakur et al, 2020) The Norwegian government's decision to discontinue e-voting platforms reflects concerns about potential cyberattacks (Vladucu et al, 2023), clarifying the lack of trust in BC from government agencies (Hiwale et al, 2023;Khan et al, 2022;Luthra et al, 2022;Schwarzman et al, 2020;Sung & Park, 2021). The complexity and immutability of BCT add to the security concerns faced by governments, which in turn creates hesitancy towards adopting or transitioning to blockchain for their operations.…”

“…Similarly, a framework is introduced in Ghana for securing the integrity, confidentiality, and security of data related to skin lands (northern region) (Mintah et al, 2020). In this domain, governments should focus on formulating national policies and making strategic investments in blockchain infrastructure (S11) to address key challenges such as integration and interoperability (CT2), scalability (CT5), cost (CT6), immutability (CT7), maturity (CT10), transparency (CT11), decentralisation (CT12), and transaction speed (CT14) (K. M. Alam et al, 2022;Clavin et al, 2020;Hafizon et al, 2019;Hiwale et al, 2023;Song et al, 2022;Vladucu et al, 2023). By prioritising the solution (S11), governments can pave the way for successful blockchain adoption and harness the full potential of this transformative technology.…”