Bitcoin in healthcare: an unexpected love story.

This post was inspired by a rather light conversation I had with my mom. She had a guy friend who was very sensitive about his balding head. Understandably so, especially since he was still in his early thirties and just now gaining fame as an actor.

He wanted to get hair transplants, but was worried that his fans and media would find out. It would be completely embarrassing for him. Caught up in his thoughts, he thought of the many ways his privacy with hair transplants would be shattered. The main problem was the lack of privacy in the available payment methods.

Credit cards and cheques leave history of his transplant, and the fees would be too big to pay in paper bills. He was right. Payment methods are not yet waterproof, and can be hacked quite easily.

My enjoyable phone call with my mom ended; but my thoughts were just beginning to pick up. How could we solve the current state of hackable transaction histories? Hair transplants are personally sensitive, but what if it pertained to even more life-dependant treatments such as for depression, HIV, and cancer treatment?

Then something clicked.

Bitcoin?

It was a concept I heard of in friendly conversations. Remembering the jist of bitcoin as being a centralized, anonymous transaction spoke to me. This memory lead me to research, interpret, and write about my thoughts on bitcoin in healthcare.

From the balding guy story, you might have guessed that the most obvious use of bitcoin is as a viable payment method. And the need for this was already proven in practice.

When the option for bitcoin payment was introduced at a San Francisco clinic, the number of patients being treated for substance abuse increased substantially. Ironically, after using the currency to purchase illegal drugs online, some addicts had a few Bitcoin spare with which to seek help. This would of course leave no financial footprint of having paid for this type of treatment, which is perceived negatively in society and whose history might hurt their professional careers.

A less obvious, yet impactful use of bitcoin in healthcare for better management of electronic medical records (EMRs). One of the biggest problems surrounding EMRs is the lack of interoperability between systems. In this heavily siloed industry, blockchain technology could

introduce transparency without compromising data security and integrity.

In an emergency situation today, doctors are too often faced with the dilemma of treating without a full medical record of the patient. This is because the process of going through the middlemen who keep records from being moved around between different systems is tedious and expensive. If EMRs operated in a blockchain manner, each patient would have an ID number associated with their health records. If that ID number was activated with an ID number of a verified emergency health responder, it would automatically broadcast emergency contacts previously listed by the patient himself. When they grant access, the medical crew are able to access the patient’s health information.

Shared ownership and coordination is finally introduced in medicine.

Seamless payment is the new gold standard. Think of Uber. The payment interaction is invisible. You order, hop in, and out to your destination. With a bit of creativity, you can see how this can apply to healthcare. Your health records are directly connected to your insurer, who can track your treatment progress. Equipped with remote monitoring tools, the information to check a patient’s adherence to prescribed routine and medications is available for the insurer and the doctor. So long as the patient sticks to an agreed-upon treatment, the entirety of one’s bills are covered automatically — no paperwork needed.

Frictionless transactions based on trust and authenticity are enabled.

Bitcoin is relevant in modern healthcare. The movement towards patient entered care implies patient autonomy within a network of care providers. Similarly, blockchains rely on individuals acting in harmony within a population if users.

There are many good partners Healthcare can meet over time. Bitcoin is an unexpected, yet refreshing possibility of a loving partner in crime.