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    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">REA Press</journal-id>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">null</journal-id>
      <journal-title>REA Press</journal-title><issn pub-type="ppub">3042-1306</issn><issn pub-type="epub">3042-1306</issn><publisher>
      	<publisher-name>REA Press</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">https://doi.org/10.22105/thi.vi.36 </article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Research Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group><subject>Blockchain, Health informatics, Interoperability, Health information exchange, Data security</subject></subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Leveraging blockchain technology for secure and interoperable health information exchange: Opportunities and challenges</article-title><subtitle>Leveraging blockchain technology for secure and interoperable health information exchange: Opportunities and challenges</subtitle></title-group>
      <contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author">
	<name name-style="western">
	<surname>Kazemi</surname>
		<given-names>Mohammad Hossein</given-names>
	</name>
	<aff>Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch, Lahijan, Iran.</aff>
	</contrib></contrib-group>		
      <pub-date pub-type="ppub">
        <month>06</month>
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>26</day>
        <month>06</month>
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>2</volume>
      <issue>2</issue>
      <permissions>
        <copyright-statement>© 2025 REA Press</copyright-statement>
        <copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
        <license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/"><p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p></license>
      </permissions>
      <related-article related-article-type="companion" vol="2" page="e235" id="RA1" ext-link-type="pmc">
			<article-title>Leveraging blockchain technology for secure and interoperable health information exchange: Opportunities and challenges</article-title>
      </related-article>
	  <abstract abstract-type="toc">
		<p>
			The integration of blockchain technology into health information systems presents a promising avenue for enhancing security, transparency, and interoperability in healthcare data exchange. Traditional Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) often face challenges related to data fragmentation, privacy breaches, and lack of standardized protocols, which can compromise patient safety and hinder efficient care delivery. Blockchain, with its decentralized ledger structure, cryptographic security, and immutable record-keeping, offers solutions to these challenges by enabling secure, auditable, and patient-controlled data sharing. This article explores the potential applications of blockchain in facilitating interoperable HIE across multiple healthcare providers. It highlights opportunities such as improving data integrity, enabling real-time access to patient records, and supporting consent management through smart contracts. However, the implementation of blockchain in healthcare is accompanied by significant challenges, including scalability issues, high computational costs, regulatory uncertainty, and integration with existing Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. Future research and practical deployment should focus on hybrid approaches that combine blockchain with traditional HIE frameworks, standardized interoperability protocols, and privacy-preserving techniques. By addressing these challenges, blockchain can significantly enhance secure data sharing, support informed clinical decision-making, and pave the way for more connected and patient-centered digital health ecosystems.
		</p>
		</abstract>
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