Towards a Modular Layered Architecture forBlockchain-Enabled Self-Sovereign Identity inHealthcare: Requirement Analysis, FrameworkEvaluation, and Conceptual Model
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User control, privacy, and interoperability remain persistent challenges in HealthInformation Exchange (HIE), despite growing demand for secure and patient-centric data sharing. Blockchain-enabled Self-Sovereign Identity (BC-SSI) hasemerged as a promising paradigm; however, existing implementations are het-erogeneous, tightly coupled to specific infrastructures, and lack a reusablearchitectural model that satisfies healthcare-specific requirements. To addressthis gap, this paper aims to derive a modular layer-architectural principle forBC-SSI solutions adapted to the healthcare context. First, a set of health-care requirements was identified. Second, two representative BC-SSI frameworks(Walt.ID and Hyperledger Aries/Indy) were evaluated as proof-of-concept (PoC)using a requirements-driven implementation of the Norwegian electronic pre-scription workflow. For this, an architectural view approach informed by the4+1 model was used. Third, a modular layer architecture for BC-SSI health-care solutions was proposed based on the previous evaluation. Although bothframeworks support the full SSI credential lifecycle, neither fully satisfies keyrequirements such as consent enforcement, identity binding, data minimization,and standard validation. To tackle this issue, a three-layer (i.e., Access Trust,Privacy Policy, and Validation Integration) conceptual architecture was pro-posed. This architecture was organised into required, optional and cross-cutting1components providing a solution for a healthcare- oriented, framework-agnosticreference model for BC-SSI-enabled health data exchange.
