How will blockchain be used?
Blockchain is a technology that records chains of bundled data. Each record of data is dependent on the previous block of data’s existence, and is therefore secure, verifiable, and unchangeable. Similarly to how the internet changed how we communicate and do business starting in the 1990’s, blockchain will have an equal if not greater impact in how we do business moving forward.
Blockchain was built in 2009 by an anonymous person, and is not owned or hosted by any one individual or organization. When a blockchain network is open, no single authority has more than a tiny amount of control, making it impossible to be controlled by one person or special interests. This defines decentralization. The permanent block structure makes failure and hacking theoretically impossible, which makes it a perfect use case for transactions, record keeping, and voting.
Blockchain allows communities to organize based on shared interests and common goals. The technology is different and allows communities to be decentralized with no need for a board of directors – free from hierarchy. Decentralization efforts are community driven and have the ability to empower the collective efforts of communities who share common goals, while simultaneously allowing the individuals in those communities to protect their own interest and maintain their sovereign rights. This will create a Decentralized Autonomous Organization of Doctors – The Doctors DAO.
This will in essence create a new egalitarian, physician run, open healthcare marketplace- powered by the independent physicians on the network. The marketplace will allow physicians to gain access to services that HPEC provides, as well as create an opportunity for them to market their services to others.
How do we verify that only physicians are on the network? By ensuring every physician uploads their credentials – which will become a permanent part of their identity. Once they are verified Physicians will be able to create a virtual true identity represented by their digital identity. They could choose to then organize into micro-communities by attaching their identity to a specific specialty, hospital or practice location. The independent physician will also be able to attach their identity to a professional organization or to concerns around issues such as, be it MOC, Malpractice, scope of practice or other issues that affect the physician community. It will always be the individual physician who decides to what extent they will be involved and share their attention time and resources with each group.
Learn more about Self-Sovereign Identity’s HERE, and HERE.
Learn more about how we will create the Doctors DAO’s HERE.
Physicians are a diverse group, with diverse political interests and practice management styles, which is why it is nearly impossible to organize around a common goal. This technology solves this problem. HPEC is giving each physician a digital identity on this network, which will be self-sovereign- meaning only owned and controlled by the individual physician to whom the identity belongs.
Components of the Identity
Credentialing
The Doctors DAO will give each physician a self-sovereign digital identity attached to their credentials on a decentralized network. This will allow for seamless and instantaneous transfer of skills through healthcare systems via its validated and authenticated ledger. The secure digital transfer of credentials directly from the physician that owns them will take moments in comparison to the current 2-3+ month process.
The current laborious authentication and validation process of hospital on-boarding will be shortened and streamlined with this model. The current model is riddled with errors and redundancies, and takes hours of the physicians uncompensated time. Instead of taking 2-4 months and up to $10,000 credentialing can be done instantaneously and inexpensively in comparison through the DAO.
Seamless and instantaneous transfer of skills will be allowed through permissioned access allowed through the identity platform. This will create employment mobility allowing physicians to move between healthcare systems and private practice creating seamless employment mobility. The bundle of identities will create a Decentralized Physician Database (DPD) that can be used to fill vacancies. A self-sovereign identity will allow the physician to determine the rules of engagement with managed care through the implementation of smart contracts. Freedom and choice will eliminate uncompensated administrative burdens, and theft of services that contribute to physician burnout, thereby improving access to care.
There will be no more confusion as far as who is “in network” because every physician-patient interaction will be governed by full transparency smart contracts. When patients have portable medical records they will choose when to allow permissioned access of their data directly to their doctor, without the need for trusted third parties. Freedom, transparency, and and choice will eliminate surprise bills to patients, because physicians will be compensated at the time of service.
Governance
Healthcare decisions are being made by small groups of minority stakeholders. Decisions are made behind closed doors and imposed on those involved without their consent. Decentralization of decision making will allow physicians to become the impactful decision makers in the healthcare system. Cryptographically secure identity and governance platforms will be merged to create a powerful collaborative protocol that is equitably run by each individual physician on the network.
Each physician on the network will have access to a collaborative governance platform allowing them to convene and collaborate with others on the network to come to efficient and fair decisions for all involved. The technology can be leveraged through strong cryptography allowing individuals to participate based on their shared or differing competencies and interests.
Physicians can tag their unique profile with identifying attribute’s that they choose. Some may be changeable such as a membership to a legacy society or fixed such as a residency or board certification. The DAO will provide for an organizational framework to come to efficient and fair decisions based on the identifying attributes chosen by each physician. Algorithms will be implemented so proper attention can be paid to ensure important issues can be decided on. Proper incentives will be included to reduce the risk of unfair attention or idea representation. Security is ensured through the technology, and the decisions will remain free from the influence from special interests.
Physicians can also use the system to collaborate peer to peer with another physician in the network in order to discuss the best care for a patient- even if the physicians had previously never met. They may also leverage the collective physician voice and vote on issues that pertain only to them or their patients, by including only what they have an interest or competency in.
GOVERNANCE (DrsDao)
Physicians will be incentivized to collaborate and vote for the collective good using powerful algorithms.
Physicians can organize around shared interest, areas of expertise, and trust of others in the network. Votes and decisions can be delegated if a physician feels it is out of their scope.
Decisions on the network will be implemented, and those that do not pass through the DAO will fall away and be abandoned.
DECENTRALIZED PHYSICIAN DATABASE (DPD)
Physicians will upload their credentials and update them as necessary.
Institutions, licensing boards and organizations will also get an identity, where physicians can allow keyed permissioned access as they choose.
Physicians can easily validate and authenticate who they are allowing them to transfer between healthcare systems seamlessly.
Physicians are on the front lines of healthcare delivery, yet have little say in how the system is run. They are feeling hopeless and many are leaving medicine further worsening access to care.
What's in it for me?
Is this just about organization? No- HPEC provides a way for physicians to practice free from third party interference and determine their individual rules of engagement with managed care. This will in effect create an open healthcare marketplace designed and equally owned by the physicians on the network. Services we hope to provide include;
Direct Immediate Payment
The platform provides a way for physicians to charge for their services and be paid at the time of service – eliminating the current insurance reconciliation process.
Credentialing
Your credentials will be attached to your digital identity. They will be portable and able to be instantaneously transferred as necessary which will create employment mobility for each self-sovereign physician.
Collaborative Consensus
Where the independent physician will be empowered to negotiate on par with large health systems, because they have the power of the greater physician community behind them
Advertisement of Services
Physicians can advertise their availability on the decentralized physician database- where the independent physician chooses whether to make themselves available to the public for work, eliminating the need for health system recruiters, or expensive advertising and marketing- as it will all can be done through the network.
We understand that the physician’s abilities are the most important product of healthcare, and we are building the delivery model for that product in a digital space. When all the physicians are able to organize in one space, yet also maintain their independence in a decentralized way it will allow the physician community to regain their autonomy.
Two healthcare behemoths have already begun building blockchain technology!
The F-SMB has already begun putting physician credentials on a Closed Permissioned* Blockchain where they will continue to maintain control.
F-SMB Credentialing Plans for Physicians
HPEC is different because we provide physicians with a self-sovereign identity where there is direct control by the end user- the physician.
The A-MA is also building a Closed Permissioned* Blockchain protocol in order to capture the data it generates from it’s coding protocols
AKIRI by the A-MA
HPEC is different because unlike the closed permissioned blockchain protocols mentioned above it will use an open permission-less blockchain and is therefore decentralized. Each physician has sovereign rights to their digital identity.
HPEC ensures that the physician will not only have sole ownership and control of their credentials, and data, but will also provide a platform for each physician to influence outcomes through the voting process. Furthermore physicians on the will also be rewarded for your work, because you own the product.