A Privacy-Preserving Framework for Protecting Electronic Health Records in Cloud Environments

Abstract

The integration of cloud computing in healthcare systems offers significant advantages in terms of data accessibility and storage efficiency. However, it also introduces substantial privacy and security concerns, particularly regarding Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This paper presents a novel privacy-preserving framework designed to secure EHRs in cloud environments. The proposed framework employs a hybrid encryption approach, combining symmetric and asymmetric encryption techniques, to ensure data confidentiality during storage and transmission. Additionally, the framework incorporates advanced access control mechanisms to regulate data access based on predefined policies. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that the framework effectively mitigates unauthorized access risks while maintaining system performance. The findings underscore the importance of implementing robust privacy-preserving strategies to protect sensitive health information in cloud-based healthcare applications. This research builds upon the work of Dutta et al. (2023), who explored hybrid encryption techniques to enhance the security of health data in cloud environments.