Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have some very special advantages for healthcare.
Cross-Border Payments: Most overseas treatments, as well as most insurance claims for health care, are accompanied by complex and time-consuming payment procedures. Cryptocurrencies can facilitate such transactions in a manner that excludes any intermediary entities involved and offers less processing cost. This benefits patients seeking care abroad and also the healthcare providers participating in global healthcare networks.
Micropayments: Cryptocurrency is amenable to micropayments, and in the domain of health care, these would be most useful in services like telemedicine consultations, remote monitoring, or app-based health services. Patients could directly pay small sums for their services to providers, thus increasing the ease of access and convenience.
Patient Empowerment: Cryptocurrencies allow patients to have full control over their health information and monetize it. A very good example would be patients willingly making genetic information available to help scientists carry out studies on genes in exchange for rewards in cryptocurrency tokens. The way this works, the patient is contributing to the development of medicine and at the same time generating a profit.
The potential benefits of cryptocurrency in healthcare are huge, but the challenges one has to surmount cannot be denied. Regulatory hurdles, security risks, and widespread adoption are on the list of the main obstacles. Moreover, educating health providers and patients on the ways of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is a must for successful implementation.
This volatility in digital cryptocurrency can cause waves of disruption within the financial management of a healthcare organization. However, stablecoins, through their being pegged to any fiat currencies, can counteract this risk.
