  Blockchain-based decentralized identity management provides a promising
solution to improve the security and privacy of healthcare systems and make
them scalable. Traditional Identity Management Systems are centralized, which
makes them single-point-of-failure, vulnerable to attacks and data breaches,
and non-scalable. In contrast, decentralized identity management based on the
blockchain can ensure secure and transparent access to patient data while
preserving privacy. This approach enables patients to control their personal
health data while granting permission for medical personnel to access specific
information as needed. We propose a decentralized identity management system
for healthcare systems named BDIMHS based on a permissioned blockchain with
Hyperledger Indy and Hyperledger Aries. We develop further descriptions of
required functionalities and provide high-level procedures for network
initialization, enrollment, registration, issuance, verification and revocation
functionalities. The proposed solution improves data security, privacy,
immutability, interoperability, and patient autonomy by using selective
disclosure, zero-knowledge proofs, Decentralized Identifiers, and Verifiable
Credentials. Furthermore, we discuss the potential challenges associated with
implementing this technology in healthcare and evaluate the performance and
security of the proposed solution.
