I feel as the world shrinks more and more and boundaries become more of lines on a map, a universal currency and its applications are the only way to go. An interesting application I envisage is in medicine. There has a been a rise in telemedicine in US and companies like Teladoc are doing well. A number of hospitals are coming to terms with telemedicine and already there are a number of hospitals where electronic ICU consults are the norm. Here the specialist ICU doctor is at a remote location and provides advice to a less qualified physician on managing a complex patient. Also some physicians are already starting to allot a part of their day to see and talk to patients who are remotely present. The Center for Medicare Services has already laid down reimbursement codes for telehealth in USA.
Taking this to the next step is by using blockchain, a patient in Asia can avail the services of a physician in USA. If there is decentralized platform where physicians all over the globe can advertise themselves, the paying public can decide and choose whom to consult. Time and distance are no more a constraint. Physicians can state their fee and credentials publicly on this platform and it will be upto the paying public if he wants to get a second opinion from a IVY League trained physician rather than simply be at the mercy of his local octagenarian doctor who may not have kept up with the advances in medicine. Based on their service; the physician can then be upvoted or downvoted. This platform can include a way to upload health records so that would solve the issue of not having all records in one place.
It would not be in the too near future where an ambitious young team would look into it and make it a reality. Physicians will enjoy keeping their consulting hours, seeing patients across the globe and patients will have access to the brightest minds on the planet. Then just remember you heard it here first!
