Cryptocurrencies in Healthcare: Why Value Proposition Relies on the Consumer
Healthcare finance guru's will tell you that cryptocurrencies value is in the payment of services. They are wrong. They don't understand.
Health data is an asset. A very sensitive personal asset. Today that asset is used for 100's of purposes without a consumers knowledge. The asset is being used for gain in health care, incentive payments to health care corporations and new models of care where individual patient level identified data is needed to managed health care utilization.
The benefit of Blockchain, and ledger-model crypto currency is the auditing capacity. Knowing when, where, for how long and what purpose your health data is being used. When ledger auditing becomes a health care essential technology, human health care data will become a currency in itself. The more data I contribute, the more value or return on my investment.
So, while very smart healthcare finance experts may think that bitcoin will simply be a currency to exchange for health care services....they are wrong.
I own my data. It is my asset. The value belongs in our hands and the return on investment is a benefit to me as a consumer of the health care system. I reinvest my data for research, quality and population health activities so that I benefit, my cohort and my population benefit...thereby creating a learning health system based on consumerism and value created by the individuals that participate.
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I couldn't agree more.
Today I had my annual physical exam and the office had signs asking patients to please let all care providers know to send information to the doctor's office so they can maintain a complete data file. I asked about it and he said we need annual eye exams, any clinic visits, any tests performed by specialists. We need a complete picture in order to provide high quality of care.
It was clear to me that our health system is still far from where it should be with electronic data records that are attached to a patient wherever the care takes place. Then each and every care provider should have access to the information that is relevant for the care they are providing. But the record should be the patient's data and they should decide how it is used, when and what value they receive when the health industry uses their data for their own benefit outside of the direct care they providing.
Consumers have absolutely no idea and are just now beginning to demand rights to their data.
Cryptocurrencies are the future and thank goodness that we are part of it..