I am envisioning using the blockchain for authentication purposes only. Which to my understanding would involve putting hashed data into the blockchain- addressing the bloat issues.

The credentialing system we now have is very manual. It is very intensive for hospitals to go through the credentialing process for their physicians. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ee/ac/47/eeac47bfc4824a27a4ce66c188a7e8d6.jpg Authenticating credentialing against the blockchain will make it so much easier.

As for your HIPAA comment. I am in agreement in the huge benefit that can be had. I am in disagreement on whether HIPAA comes into play. Effectively such a system leveraging bitcoin would transfer ownership (in the form of a private key) from the providers to the patients. HIPAA goes out the window, opening a pandora's box of applications that can now view, access, and add patient information.

This year's hacking medicine event at MIT is April 24-26  http://hackingmedicine.mit.edu/grandhack/

It is a great event. Free food. Prizes. Smart and interesting people, and a very fun way to spend a weekend.

You can sign up on their page or just show up. They are not stringent on denying admissions.

This is a great opportunity to develop a product/proof of concept for a bitcoin application in the healthcare space.

I will personally be pitching an idea that I hope to get a team working on for the competition/weekend around leveraging the blockchain for the purpose of physician credentialing. I think this is a great use case that can bring immediate value to stakeholders while also providing greater functionality than the conventional methods of credentialing. If anyone is interested I can discuss this topic at length.

I hope to see many of you there. Healthcare is ripe for innovation and disruption.

PLEASE JOIN ME! QUESTIONS?