Data Privacy Concerns in Cloud-Based Healthcare Supply Chains

Cloud platforms are now central to the management of healthcare supply chains, offering faster information exchange, scalability, and improved coordination. Yet, the very features that make them attractive also bring new privacy and security risks. Sensitive data such as patient records, procurement transactions, and shipment details move across a web of hospitals, suppliers, distributors, and service providers. This complexity raises concerns over unauthorized access, data leaks, and compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR, particularly when information crosses national borders. Common problems remain stubbornly persistent misconfigured storage systems, uneven use of encryption, and overly broad access privileges have been implicated in several breaches. Traditional safeguards, while helpful, are often too rigid for rapidly changing supply chain environments. More advanced ideas, including blockchain audit logs and federated identity systems, show potential but still face barriers in scale, integration, and oversight. The pandemic made these tensions visible: cloud tools helped organizations track protective equipment and medicines in real time, but incidents such as the ransomware attack on Ireland’s Health Service Executive also exposed how vulnerable these systems can be. In response, this paper puts forward a multi-layer privacy framework tailored to cloud- based healthcare supply chains. It combines encryption, adaptive access controls, blockchain-enabled transparency, and automated compliance monitoring. Findings from the study indicate that this layered approach reduces exposure to breaches, improves accountability across stakeholders, and strengthens alignment with regulatory standards. Taken together, the framework balances operational efficiency with the trust and confidentiality that healthcare delivery depends upon.