Bitcoin in healthcare

[casey15]

Often times we attribute the benefit of Bitcoin only to financial and economic sector of various businesses and nations. Have we ever thought about the benefit that the  Bitcoin network will have if implemented on health care? Especially now that it is rising faster than we expected
Here are some of the benefit I can think of:

Data Security
Confidentiality of data is very essential for a health organization. Patient's data are not to be accessed by unauthorized personnel. The Bitcoin and Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure means of data storage. Leveraging on this technology will help to secure healthcare data.

Improving Medical research Funding
Funding is a very important part of any research and researches requires a lot of resources and effort. Normal funding processes can be time consuming, however, the Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) that is offered by the Bitcoin technology provides a more seamless approach to funding researchers and healthcare start ups by raising funds directly from individuals and organizations that are interested in the research by issuing  tokens.

Effective Payment process.
One of the advantages of Bitcoin technology is the ability to make seamless payment. Normal payment processes with traditional banks can be time consuming and delayed especially when it involves a large sum but with the help of Bitcoin technology, seamless payment transactions can be carried out.

 This certainly isn't all the benefit we stand to gain when Bitcoin is being used in healthcare. What other benefit can you think of.

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[Z-tight]

Data Security
Confidentiality of data is very essential for a health organization. Patient's data are not to be accessed by unauthorized personnel. The Bitcoin and Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure means of data storage. Leveraging on this technology will help to secure healthcare data.

The BTC blockchain is public and transparent, and whichever data in it is open to everyone, patients hospital data should be private and should not be open for everyone to see, so nobody is going to use the BTC blockchain to store patients data in a hospital. I have not heard of patients data being at risk when stored in the hospitals record book, it is even when it is on the blockchain that it can be accessed by 'unauthorized personnel'.

however, the Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) that is offered by the Bitcoin technology

ICO's do not have anything to do with BTC or the BTC network.

[crwth]

Applying blockchain technology to the healthcare sector is something that I have read about, I think but it's not that mainstream. I'm not really sure. I think it could improve some of the old technology that the healthcare industry has and I believe that it can be of help.

In terms of BTC, maybe acceptance of payment? IDK how BTC could help as it is or something.

[aylabadia05]

I thought that the benefits of Bitcoin blockchain could be applied in the procurement of medical equipment in every agency, but all of that would be useless if a country was still anti the Bitcoin system. I still work in the health sector to this day even though my job is in the preparation of program planning which covers all financial flows.
Because it is transparent, its benefits can also be used to create a system free from corruption.

[Dunamisx]

Often times we attribute the benefit of Bitcoin only to financial and economic sector of various businesses and nations. Have we ever thought about the benefit that the  Bitcoin network will have if implemented on health care? Especially now that it is rising faster than we expected

Maybe Incase you're missing these out, Bitcoin is being applicable on every sectors of the economy, because people make use of bitcoin regardless of the place or professional settings they are as well as the way many industries have key into the use of the blockchain technology in performing many better security practice on their services, products and data, this will have to depend on the aspect we want to make it applicable and our target towards achieving this base on our desirability of bitcoin on a decentralized network of blockchain technology.

[Ndabagi01]

Effective Payment process.
One of the advantages of Bitcoin technology is the ability to make seamless payment. Normal payment processes with traditional banks can be time consuming and delayed especially when it involves a large sum but with the help of Bitcoin technology, seamless payment transactions can be carried out.

If bitcoin is to be emulated in the health sector, this implementation method should be the most straightforward. It could also be related to the advocacy for bitcoin to be used as a general payment method for all services, i.e. when bitcoin becomes legal tender around the world. Bitcoin does not need to be integrated specifically into the health sector as a means of payment when it becomes widely accepted; it will suffice there and function perfectly, just as it will in other sectors. All other benefits of incorporating bitcoin into the health sector can be hectic, but they will serve their purpose once accomplished.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Data Security
Confidentiality of data is very essential for a health organization. Patient's data are not to be accessed by unauthorized personnel. The Bitcoin and Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure means of data storage. Leveraging on this technology will help to secure healthcare data.

Improving Medical research Funding
Funding is a very important part of any research and researches requires a lot of resources and effort. Normal funding processes can be time consuming, however, the Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) that is offered by the Bitcoin technology provides a more seamless approach to funding researchers and healthcare start ups by raising funds directly from individuals and organizations that are interested in the research by issuing  tokens.

Effective Payment process.
One of the advantages of Bitcoin technology is the ability to make seamless payment. Normal payment processes with traditional banks can be time consuming and delayed especially when it involves a large sum but with the help of Bitcoin technology, seamless payment transactions can be carried out.

 This certainly isn't all the benefit we stand to gain when Bitcoin is being used in healthcare. What other benefit can you think of.

All other benefits may be enjoyed, apart from the data & security.

I think this is very easy to think of and say, but establishing it may seem impossible. Despite the fact that Bitcoin is decentralized, you can still track everybody's transactions from one wallet to another. What you cannot tell is the identity of the person who signed those transactions. 

So, now, let's bring block chain technology to the medical system. You cannot keep a medical record of someone without adding a name to that medical record. You definitely must add the name of the patient to enable you to identify which is which and for which patients. Some patients can have similar illnesses and diseases, and the only way to identify their records is through their name. So, there is no confidentiality when using the Bitcoin network in the medical system. 

The way to use Bitcoin in the medical system is if hospitals and clinics agree to accept Bitcoin payments as another payment method. 

The best system in which I think we need to introduce the use of blockchain technology is the government sector, during elections and also during donations. If Bitcoin is used by the government during an election, the result will be public, as every individual can count the votes from their home. If the government also employs Bitcoin for donations, the public will be sure that the government is not lying about the amount they have said to donate.

[serjent05]

Improving Medical research Funding
Funding is a very important part of any research and researches requires a lot of resources and effort. Normal funding processes can be time consuming, however, the Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) that is offered by the Bitcoin technology provides a more seamless approach to funding researchers and healthcare start ups by raising funds directly from individuals and organizations that are interested in the research by issuing  tokens.

I never heard of any Initial crowdfunding offered by Bitcoin technology for medical research purposes, more or less I have read several other cryptocurrencies being created to help in medical research through protein folding.    To name a few cryptocurrencies I believe FLDC  or Folding coins is created for such purpose, same with Curecoins where participants can help in medical research through folding@home by giving the hashrate power of their devices.

When it comes to ICO I think it is not the Bitcoin technology but rather people who want to milk money from the investors, it has nothing to do with the Bitcoin technology, IMO.

Effective Payment process.
One of the advantages of Bitcoin technology is the ability to make seamless payment. Normal payment processes with traditional banks can be time consuming and delayed especially when it involves a large sum but with the help of Bitcoin technology, seamless payment transactions can be carried out.

Bank payment is instant now with the help of several improvements in the banking system.  It is even faster than Bitcoin transaction confirmation since local bank transfer is just a matter of seconds.  Bitcoin only shines when it comes to international transfer but I doubt a person will have his health taken care in a foreign country unless he is wealthy enough to cover the expenses of healthcare abroad.

In addition to @OP's information and probably the source of @OP's topic,  here is an open letter from Shashank Bishnoi also calls himself Chief Crypto Nomad from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-crypto-healthcare-industry-shashank-bishnoi#:~:text=Cryptocurrencies

It was discussed in this open letter about the impact of not only Bitcoin but cryptocurrency in the medical field.

[Churchillvv]

Perhaps it would have been better but based on my perception about health issues every of the benefit you have mentioned is quite the opposite of it. that is specifically for me I don't know how others will see it.

Because for data security, just as it has been said above it's quite impossible to keep patient datas private because in the Blockchain network I will be open for every one to access and as such it can be a sucided decision store health information in public. e.g if I'm a HIV patient with the stereotype in my place and one eventually come across my data, it will just be over for me because everyone will probably run from me.

[Mate2237]

Exactly and not only the healthcare sector but all other ministries can also apply it . In 2022 General Election in Nigeria, there was a man after the election problem was analysing the election in the national television Stations and said the election results can be stored and transmit from the Blockchain network. And it was that day I came to notice that the Blockchain has a multifunction dimension which can be used to store data and information for future use.

As for me the best sector to use Blockchain is the electoral college body because the nation corruption starts from there and once that body is well secure then all the other departments will adjust and the right thing because if they didn't do the right thing then the next election you will be vote out from the system.

[Smartvirus]

You’ve got it all mixed up mate. I think the points that might apply as you introduced the thread is you having to speak about it been some means to fundings and payment for services.

When you talk about privacy and data, it’s got little to do with Bitcoin in the context you’re referring. It’s got more to do with the blockchain technology and the blockchain technology isn’t something that is peculiar to Bitcoin. It might have started with the cryptocurrency idea but, it’s been adopted across various fields today for data storage.

Meanwhile, there isn’t any privacy about that. It’s open to all and patient data isn’t maintained that way with regards to privacy.

[o48o]

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Data Security
Confidentiality of data is very essential for a health organization. Patient's data are not to be accessed by unauthorized personnel. The Bitcoin and Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure means of data storage. Leveraging on this technology will help to secure healthcare data.

Blockchain shouldn't be used as a data storage. It's a public ledger, and even if it was confidential somehow, it would get way too big. Also because of the immutable nature of it, we couldn't even change the data.
Layer 1 should be kept as small and lean as possible.

Improving Medical research Funding
Funding is a very important part of any research and researches requires a lot of resources and effort. Normal funding processes can be time consuming, however, the Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) that is offered by the Bitcoin technology provides a more seamless approach to funding researchers and healthcare start ups by raising funds directly from individuals and organizations that are interested in the research by issuing  tokens.

Initial Coin Offerings are just a name for fund raising method. In 2017 several different altcoins tried to raise money for similar kind of scam projects you are talking about. All of them are pretty much died. And like someone already pointed out; This has nothing to do with bitcoin.

Effective Payment process.
One of the advantages of Bitcoin technology is the ability to make seamless payment. Normal payment processes with traditional banks can be time consuming and delayed especially when it involves a large sum but with the help of Bitcoin technology, seamless payment transactions can be carried out.

This isn't about health care, but just an idea that more places should accept bitcoin as payment. That has been the goal since the start of bitcoin.

[batang_bitcoin]

I am only thinking about Bitcoin as a payment method if you're talking about it in the healthcare or medical sector. But if you're dealing with blockchain, there are various chains and blockchains that can be used for these recordings and database of patients and health staff.
Forget about the ICOs, they're terrible and they're gone on these days because many have used it to gather funds and turned out that they were a scam.

[alastantiger]

Data Security
Confidentiality of data is very essential for a health organization. Patient's data are not to be accessed by unauthorized personnel. The Bitcoin and Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure means of data storage. Leveraging on this technology will help to secure healthcare data.

Bitcoin has been researched and confirmed to have the possibilities Healthcare system. The Blockchain gives a direct access to the preservation of database of patients . It can also help fix certain errors during clinical trials. Further it helps to optimize business processes, lower costs, improve patient quality, improve compliance, and make better use of data relevant to healthcare according to this research paper

[Darker45]

I guess there are other technologies for this. We don't have to do everything on Bitcoin. Bitcoin's blockchain isn't the only blockchain in town. There are thousand others.

In terms of payment, yes, Bitcoin can take this role as it is a payment system with a native currency. But in terms of data storage and crowdfunding, I'm afraid Bitcoin wasn't made for this. Data storage doesn't actually need a decentralized blockchain. As to crowdfunding, this is where Ethereum, for example, is better at.

[Die_empty]

Improving Medical research Funding

With the harsh economic conditions, the healthcare sector could seek alternative means of financing medical research and development. It may be a viable idea to invest their profits in Bitcoin which could yield some earnings after some years.

Effective Payment process.

Some nations are under trade restrictions due to sanctions imposed on them by other countries. The health sector is so significant to the total well-being of citizens, it might be ideal to seek other means of acquiring the needed materials from other countries. Health institutions can consider using Bitcoin to make payments for equipment and other health expenses such as training of personnel. With Bitcoin, such restrictions could be bypassed.

So, now, let's bring block chain technology to the medical system. You cannot keep a medical record of someone without adding a name to that medical record. You definitely must add the name of the patient to enable you to identify which is which and for which patients. Some patients can have similar illnesses and diseases, and the only way to identify their records is through their name. So, there is no confidentiality when using the Bitcoin network in the medical system. 

For now, I don't see any need to record the medical history of a patient in a decentralized platform where everyone could have access to it. However, names can be replaced with codes to hide the identity of the patient but that's not still necessary since such data can still be leaked to the public. I don't think this is necessary because hospitals are doing a very good job of keeping the medical data of patients private.

[pinggoki]

Applying blockchain technology to the healthcare sector is something that I have read about, I think but it's not that mainstream. I'm not really sure. I think it could improve some of the old technology that the healthcare industry has and I believe that it can be of help.

In terms of BTC, maybe acceptance of payment? IDK how BTC could help as it is or something.

You can probably use blockchain technology to create a medicine cabinet system that can't be tampered with, you know how there are shady hospitals there that are doing over the counter or smuggling of some opiates to some drug addicts or to sell on the streets, when there's no way to tamper with the drugs that are getting in and getting out of the system, it's actually much easier to track down what's happening and there's less people that are doing drugs because the supply is running dry, another potential use would be records for patients since there's no way to tamper then the records would be faked since each patient record is supposed to be unique or something, there's a lot of things that you can do with bitcoin in healthcare, many industries can benefit or use the technology too although it wouldn't be bitcoin itself most of the time, more like the technology that bitcoin uses or is from that they can get inspiration from.

[aylabadia05]

I thought that the benefits of Bitcoin blockchain could be applied in the procurement of medical equipment in every agency, but all of that would be useless if a country was still anti the Bitcoin system. I still work in the health sector to this day even though my job is in the preparation of program planning which covers all financial flows.
Because it is transparent, its benefits can also be used to create a system free from corruption.

Since I am not well-versed in healthcare and don’t have much information about how the healthcare system works, I may not be able to comment extensively on that. However, I believe Bitcoin can greatly benefit the healthcare system in two main areas: accessibility to the global market and research and development.

Medical records are the most useful part which requires daily records within 24 hours. In the field of medical records, recording never stops for a day.
Then, in my opinion, the procurement of medical equipment is the most beneficial because the data collection can be seen at all rather than using an e-catalog.

Firstly, Bitcoin’s accessibility to the global market can be advantageous, particularly in international payments and medical tourism. Bitcoin could potentially replace traditional financial intermediaries, making cross-border transactions smoother and more efficient due to its decentralized nature.

We already know that the payment sector is very good, but in this area it is more about economics.

[Wapfika]

There’s a project like this in the past that proposed the use of Blockchain for their patient records. The idea is to easily transfer patients record to any hospital that has access to that particular blockchain records. This is good since you can be admit to any hospital in the world without the need to request your files to your previous hospital especially if you live far away now.

But of course this project doesn’t materialize since hospital will not cooperate on this extra labor just to share records to competitors. Also it’s very to implement due to privacy issue since blockchain records is meant for transparency and not for private matter such as patients information.

[Synchronice]

Here are some of the benefit I can think of:

Data Security
Confidentiality of data is very essential for a health organization. Patient's data are not to be accessed by unauthorized personnel. The Bitcoin and Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure means of data storage. Leveraging on this technology will help to secure healthcare data.

Your data in healthcare is not as protected as you think and data confidentiality is not the priority of health organizations. In fact, your data is sold to many pharma companies for various reasons. Doctors often push prescription medicines of certain brands to their customers because they are paid by those pharma companies to sell as many drugs as possible.

Improving Medical research Funding
Funding is a very important part of any research and researches requires a lot of resources and effort. Normal funding processes can be time consuming, however, the Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) that is offered by the Bitcoin technology provides a more seamless approach to funding researchers and healthcare start ups by raising funds directly from individuals and organizations that are interested in the research by issuing  tokens.

ICO is not offered by the Bitcoin technology. ICO is just a way of raising funds for a new cryptocurrency. To be honest, any healthcare company can raise funds without cryptocurrencies but pharma is a very brutal business.

Effective Payment process.
One of the advantages of Bitcoin technology is the ability to make seamless payment. Normal payment processes with traditional banks can be time consuming and delayed especially when it involves a large sum but with the help of Bitcoin technology, seamless payment transactions can be carried out.

 This certainly isn't all the benefit we stand to gain when Bitcoin is being used in healthcare. What other benefit can you think of.

It's quite the opposite. Bitcoin payments are getting more expensive as the number of transactions increase. Just a few weeks ago, price on a simple transaction with 1 input and 1 output was up to 20 dollars and higher also.