HIPAA Rules and regulations limit the direct use of a public blockchain to store electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). We know blockchains are secure, so why is the technology non-compliant? Because the blockchain’s cryptographic process relies on pseudonyms that are mathematically derived. HIPAA’s Privacy Rule prohibits the use of these pseudonyms as tools to de-identify private information. In addition to being non-compliant with HIPAA’s Privacy Rule, a traditional blockchain ledger faces storage and access roadblocks. A system allowing direct posting of ePHI to the blockchain might require each provider to maintain a database with the complete medical records of allPowered by WPeMatico
