Description
Foundations of Blockchain and the Healthcare Data Problem This opening chapter establishes the conceptual and technological foundations necessary to understand the transformative role of blockchain in modern healthcare. It begins by examining the fragmented nature of healthcare information systems, where electronic health records, diagnostic reports, insurance data, and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices generate vast amounts of sensitive data that remain isolated across organizational boundaries. The chapter explains why interoperability, trust, data integrity, and secure information exchange have become critical challenges in digital healthcare ecosystems. Readers are introduced to the evolution of blockchain technology from distributed ledger systems to trusted infrastructures for healthcare data management. Core blockchain principles—including decentralization, cryptographic hashing, consensus mechanisms, smart contracts, and permissioned network architectures—are presented in the context of healthcare requirements such as privacy, regulatory compliance, and secure data sharing.