Lack of access to healthcare is one of the primary problems affecting humankind. Communities without enough physicians or healthcare facilities are usually poor, and those lacking the means to travel are negatively impacted the most.
HealthSapiens is solving this problem through our existing 1.0 platform, where we provide 24/7 physician access to patients with a phone or internet connection for a small monthly fee. The addition of a blockchain and DOC tokens with HealthSapiens 2.0 will ease the pain of switching currency and will increase access to doctors, pharmaceuticals, and electronic medical records (EMR).
The HealthSapiens 2.0 Interface
Our current HealthSapiens 1.0 platform enables direct interaction with the network, and patients are able to access the Patient Portal using a unique identifier, username and password. Through this interface, the following actions are conducted:
patients seeking consultations (both primary and second-opinion)
physicians providing diagnoses and potential treatments
sharing and updating EMRs
Patient Dashboard
With HealthSapiens 2.0, patients will have increased access to more and better data. Once access is granted, patients are led to their dashboard. The dashboard allows patients to:
Seek consultation from physicians around the world
Query physicians by rating, specialty, geographic location, etc
Access their EMR from legacy systems and share data with various providers
Submit reviews and rank physicians
Physician Dashboard
Physicians can also access our HealthSapiens 2.0 portal using their unique identifier, username and password. Once access is granted, physicians are led to the dashboard, where physicians can:
Upload their profile and credentials
List their services and respective rates
Interact with patients virtually to provide diagnostic consultation
Bid to review the work of other doctors
Access and update a patient’s EMR
Researcher Dashboard
Researchers can access our portal using their unique identifier, username and password as well. Once access is granted, researchers are led to the dashboard, where they can:
Upload their profile and background
List their research and publications
Bid to review the work of other scholars
Seek access to data for pilot projects
The HealthSapiens portals are a gateway to an effective, transparent, efficient and reliable global healthcare system.
Future HealthSapiens Interface
Our blockchain technology built on the existing portal will facilitate patient and physician interaction across payment settlement, data exchange and peer review and solve the problem of lack of access to healthcare.
With its 3 in 1 consumer-centric blockchain model, HealthSapiens 2.0 will play a major role in decentralizing healthcare by providing a self-regulated ecosystem where stakeholders operate away from the rigid and costly structures of fee-for-service, to a mutually incentivizing outcome-based solution. We are moving away from the interest of the institution to the interest of the individual, progressing healthcare for humankind.
About The Author
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
The key to a stable economy, and to decentralize healthcare, is reaching a nexus of users who have incentive to both earn and spend. The same is true of a blockchain-based economy.
With HealthSapiens 2.0, we’re building a network that facilitates robust token economics by utilizing a combination of automatically-executing smart contracts and ERC20 tokens (the HealthSapiens “DOC Token”.) Our blockchain-based healthcare ecosystem is predicated upon incentivizing and rewarding desirable behaviors across our user base. We believe if people are incentivized and rewarded for doing the right thing, they’ll be more-likely to do the right thing.
Here are 3 Rewards systems we’re utilizing inside HealthSapiens 2.0 to incentivize and reward desirable behaviors within our ecosystem.
1. Holder Rewards
The Holder Reward system incentivizes network users to hold onto tokens rather than exchange tokens for fiat currency. HealthSapiens also wants to encourage users to manage their health interactively and discourage users from purchasing tokens only when one is in dire need of healthcare.
Token holders will be given the opportunity to lock up tokens in a contract, specifying that those tokens can only be used for healthcare. Think of it as a sort of “health spending account.” HealthSapiens will offer a percentage match on the locked tokens, which requires that users not withdraw the tokens and again: only use those tokens on healthcare. HealthSapiens will be able to share the total amount of tokens locked up in these accounts, helping encourage physicians to participate.
2. Referral Rewards
A Referral Reward incentivizes users to refer or recommend the HealthSapiens platform to potential new users. This is similar to how Uber and Lyft provide promotions or rewards for users who refer contacts in their area of influence. Referrals get rewarded when their special Referral Code is used to register a new user to the platform.
An initial bounty period will be included where users are rewarded with tokens for additional activities that create buzz (such as sharing on social media.)
3. Achievement Rewards
For Patients
Our Achievement Reward System is a part of the Usage Reward System, which incentivizes users to actively use their tokens and become engaged in their health. HealthSapiens will set up various tasks such as annual healthcare checkups. This system may include additional health-related goals, including daily, weekly, and total personal goals, tasks, doctor visits, reviews and ratings. Upon completing these achievements, users will be rewarded with tokens.
For Doctors
This Achievement System is a part of the Usage Reward System that will incentivize users to actively-use their tokens. This system will include:
Daily/Weekly Personal Goals
Daily/Weekly Tasks
Daily/Weekly Patient Visits
Daily/Weekly Validation Participation
Total Validation Participation
Total Patient Visits
and more
Similarly, upon completing these achievements, users will be rewarded with tokens.
When building an effective token economy, incentives to hold, buy, spend, or earn tokens will ensure a necessary balance. Implementing rewards can help generate crucial stability or continual actions a token-based economy needs for success.
Conclusion
HealthSapiens is creating a sustainable healthcare ecosystem to support our vision of transparency, access, and affordability for healthcare consumers worldwide. Please follow along with us on our blog and social media as we make our decentralized healthcare ecosystem a reality. With your help, HealthSapiens will move one step closer towards solving the global healthcare crisis.
About The Author
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
HealthSapiens’ vision is democratization of healthcare (i.e. Decentralized Healthcare), driven by the HealthSapiens DOC Token on our blockchain platform. DOC tokens are used primarily as payment method within the HealthSapiens network. They are also used to reward users for various activities that help enhance the ecosystem.
Overview
Patients
The primary token flow happens between physicians and patients. Patients purchase DOC through an exchange when they need care. They pay DOC to the HealthSapiens platform in order to gain access to their network of qualified physicians. Optionally, patients can pay DOC for HealthSapiens to consolidate EMRs on their behalf.
Next they pay DOC to physicians once care is rendered. Physicians receive 75% of the payment, while the rest is held in escrow. If the patient chooses not to have their outcome peer reviewed, the remaining 25% goes to the treating physician after a waiting period commensurate with their ailment. (A short period for less serious illnesses and longer for those involving lengthier treatment and recovery periods.)
If the patient chooses to submit their outcome for a physician peer review, the outcome goes to the review pool of peers. If peers agree that the service was sufficient, the physician earns the remaining payment, minus a fee to the peers. Outcomes are saved to the blockchain.
Additional ways patients can earn DOC is through the HealthSapiens rewards pool. Patients earn tokens by:
Leaving a review for a physician
Sharing their EMRs with a researcher or pharmaceutical company
Holding tokens in their wallets for a period of time
Referring a new user to the platform
Achieving specific health-related goals
Obtaining a buyer reward while purchasing certain amounts
Patient User Story
Fred is a relief worker in an area with limited access to medical care. He develops a cough and after a few days it hasn’t improved. He decides to use his smartphone to access HealthSapiens. Because he knew he would be in a remote location, Fred thought ahead and purchased tokens to keep in his DOC wallet in the HealthSapiens system. From his phone, Fred accesses the network and chooses a doctor who can see him right away.
Fred consults with the doctor who recommends a treatment plan. Though the doctor is in a country with a different currency, Fred is able to pay her immediately using DOC. HealthSapiens retains a small fee of 5% from the transaction. Fred then leaves a review for the physician he saw and earns a small amount of DOC as a reward for his review.
Part of Fred’s treatment plan includes a series of daily tasks related to his health. While in the HealthSapiens app, Fred sets up some goals to earn achievement awards. If he completes each task related to his goal he earns additional DOC as a reward.
Physicians
Physicians are given access to up to 30 patients per month for no fee through HealthSapiens. Physicians can access additional patients by paying DOC to HealthSapiens.
In addition to earning DOC by providing care to patients, physicians can also earn tokens by:
Peer-reviewing another physician’s outcome
Referring new users—both physicians and patients (see Referral Reward )
Holding tokens in wallets for a period of time (see Holder Reward )
Physicians can spend DOC to promote their practice with advertisements within the HealthSapiens app. Doctors will be able to white label if they want to better promote themselves within our platform. They can pay to participate in seminars and continuing education offered through HealthSapiens by other doctors or researchers in the platform. They can also take their DOC to an exchange and cash out for fiat.
Physician User Story
Dr. Quinn joins the HealthSapiens platform in order to reach a wider range of patients. To start, she is given free access to 30 patients a month, roughly one per day. Because she is new to the system and has not built a reputation, she decides to enable the escrow feature. This minimizes the risk for new patients.
Fred contacts her with a bad cough and chooses her for her immediate availability.
Dr. Quinn and Fred meet (either virtually or in person), and she gives him a treatment plan for her cough. Because she has chosen to escrow, she receives part of her tokens upon completion of their appointment, and half goes into an escrow pool. A hash is created and a validator smart contract is formed.
Five care providers from the validator pool then bid to be chosen for the review. Three are chosen and the outcome gets either validated or not validated.
If the outcome is validated, the DOC locked in escrow are released to the treating physician, with a portion going to the validators.
If the outcome is not validated, the DOC minus the validator portion is returned to Fred. The invalid outcome is recorded on the public blockchain.
Dr. Quinn’s outcome is validated, and she receives her remaining DOC. She then spends part of the DOC on advertising within the HealthSapiens system to get more patients.
Researchers
Researchers pay DOC to HealthSapiens in exchange for access to patient EMR to use in their research. They can earn DOC by offering seminars to physicians or other researchers through the platform.
Researcher User Story
Dr. Anand Singh is a Ph.D. in Biological and Life Science. He focuses on the study of living organisms, including biology, ecology, and neuroscience. He works in a small lab affiliated with a local university. Unlike his peers in the western world who are connected to well-funded institutions, Dr. Singh is long on groundbreaking ideas and short on funding.
Dr. Singh is a passionate researcher and evidence-based scientist who lacks access to the patient data required to validate his new theory on neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Singh can purchase EMR of patients who have given proper permission, and the patients will be paid for sharing their data.
Through the HealthSapiens platform, Dr. Singh shares his scientific discoveries via a live seminar, bypassing traditional distribution channels and opening his research to be reviewed by the international scientific community.
Pharmaceutical Companies
Bringing medicine back into the balance, HealthSapiens invites pharmaceutical companies to utilize our ecosystem. Pharmaceutical companies will have access to patients’ healthcare records and EMR after patients have given their consent to HealthSapiens to share their data. Pharmaceutical companies will benefit from the EMR data for market analysis as well as research and development purposes.
Pharmaceutical companies will also have access to insights on patients, prescription data, and health and lifestyle choices, as well as other social data, which is something pharma companies currently do not have access to. These companies will be able to educate individuals about their cost-effective alternative products on the HealthSapiens marketing platform.
Pharmaceutical companies will also be able to use the structured data and develop digital strategies for the latest technological trends, such as machine learning and predictive analysis, to create better health
outcomes.
Patients will have a clear understanding of the importance of adhering to treatment regimens. They will become better aware of the terminology used to describe their condition, which will increase their trust of pharmaceutical companies. To further improve user trust, the Healthsapiens ecosystem will use the blockchain to help improve drug safety protocols by providing the basis for tracing drugs from manufacturer to end consumer.
Since blockchain technology is a shared, immutable record of peer-to-peer transaction stored in a digital ledger, users will be able to identify where the supply chain breaks down. The blockchain will help track active pharmaceutical ingredients during the manufacturing process and detect erroneous drugs. It will be helpful in identifying prescription drug abuse and aid in solving public health issues that are currently, systematically unsolved.
Pharmaceutical companies must hold a certain number of DOC tokens to participate in the platform. Pharmacies that sell medicine will be able to accept tokens in exchange for medication. Only drugs with FDA approval will be allowed to promote and sell on the HealthSapiens platform, provided they are transparent about side effects and that they publish results of their clinical trials. Products are also only allowed to be sold in their own country of origin. Relationships between doctors and pharmaceutical companies will be transparent. Pharmaceuticals are only allowed access to our member pool if they disclose their relationship with our providers.
Conclusion
With this robust ecosystem of payments, rewards, and other transactions, HealthSapiens is creating a sustainable economy to support our vision of transparency, access, and affordability for healthcare consumers worldwide.
Please follow along with us on our blog and social media as we make our decentralized healthcare ecosystem a reality. With your help, HealthSapiens will move one step closer towards solving the global healthcare crisis.
About The Author
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
It’s well known that the global healthcare system is flawed. But HealthSapiens is changing that with decentralized healthcare. The four global healthcare models each have their own benefits and drawbacks. The United States specifically is in crisis [1], with costs exploding and access decreasing.
Blockchain technology has enabled the first architecturally- and institutionally-decentralized healthcare system underpinned by cryptocurrency. An advanced P2P network can help pave the way towards a decentralized marketplace, connecting transacting parties worldwide with minimal intermediation.
Access
A blockchain solution is designed to provide patients with the ability to access global healthcare providers based on fully transparent and measurable metrics such as cost, location, quality of care, provider experience, and outcomes after procedures.
Additionally, a common currency can aid the process of cross-border payments, encouraging physicians to provide services globally. Physicians will be able to live and practice wherever they choose, while providing care to those in the most rural areas of their country (and potentially even the world).
Fair Prices
By adding a price transparency feature to the platform, patients can see and compare prices before using. This will naturally lower costs as patients gravitate toward more reasonable costs for comparable services. This will allow HealthSapiens 2.0 to switch to a value-based healthcare model, while still mitigating the skyrocketing costs for treatment.
By instituting a common currency we can:
Add additional services such as meticulous diagnosis, where physicians collaborate to reach better outcomes
Reduce transaction and money changing fees using a common settlement layer
Intermediary Barriers
Imagine a healthcare system where everyone in United States and around the globe is a knowledgeable, savvy consumer of medical services, and plays an active role in purchasing and consuming the services they receive. In short, a blockchain solution can enable patients to become wholly involved in their healthcare decisions.
To develop more conscientious healthcare users, plans and professionals will provide the information, financial incentives, and decision-making tools to allow consumers to make educated healthcare purchasing decisions.
Using a blockchain model, patients will have access and control of their EMRs (Electronic Medical Records) at all times. Interoperable EMRs coupled with AI (artificial intelligence) could create process efficiencies and improve decision-making necessary to boost quality.
Data could be better integrated into daily care, and patients could play a role in curating their own data. The data could include genetic, social, and behavioral patient information, as well as financial, clinical, and administrative records. It could be securely stored in the cloud and accessed on an as-needed basis via permissions written to the blockchain.
Blockchain technology enables a decentralized health information exchange, through a mapping and permission system for patients’ medical records. Most importantly, episodes of care will be memorialized on the blockchain and recorded as a pointer to the actual EMRs kept by the provider. Provider access to a patient’s file pathway is granted via a key signature only after patient authorization is submitted.
By creating decentralized EMRs which are cryptographically-safe, secure, and permissioned, a blockchain solution lays the foundation for a new and powerful global healthcare network. As the architecture develops, the services on the platform will have the ability to grow into a comprehensive medical services platform with EMRs intuitively-interconnected.
Quality of Care
A blockchain-based healthcare platform uses blockchain technology to augment the quality of care provided by enabling interoperability of electronic medical records from legacy systems worldwide. The purpose is to empower patients to control their own data and partner with healthcare providers in a way that facilitates higher engagement, higher quality, lower cost, and ultimately the best outcomes in terms of healthcare service.
Patient outcomes–defined as outcomes that are both accurate and lead to the best solution–can be peer-reviewed and the data and stats will be irrevocably recorded on the blockchain. The patient names and details will be anonymous and each physician will have a rating based on their peer-review statistics. This transparency of outcomes will lead to higher quality care as bad actors are weeded out and patients can choose the best doctors to work with.
Additionally, use of the blockchain and our new model of consolidating EMRs will mean patients can more easily access and send their medical records, creating better signals for diagnosis.
Finally, the platform will encourage participants to actively engage in their own wellness through a rewards mechanism, where patients earn rewards for reaching goals or partaking in activities that contribute to their overall health.
Other Participants
Other members of the healthcare field will be able to benefit from a blockchain healthcare ecosystem. Medical researchers can request permission to access patient EMR, aiding their research. Patients who wish to share their EMR will receive compensation in tokens, giving them ownership of their own data. Signatures on smart contracts will enable the transactions and record the permissions required.
Our platform will include a feature where researchers and doctors can present workshops, classes and webinars in exchange for tokens, raising the bar for overall healthcare betterment through collaboration. Mandatory continuing education courses will also be available.
Pharmaceutical companies can request access to research data and also participate by promoting their medications or services, while being encouraged via the market to offer researched, cost-efficient alternatives of medications. The ecosystem also encourages pharmacies to be transparent on side effects and publish results on clinical trials.
Additional Blockchain Benefits
A global platform will introduce a compensation model built on incentives made possible by the blockchain. It will marginalize the need for intermediaries. For example, our platform will not receive revenue from an outside entity. Instead, it will run as a network fueled by HealthSapiens DOC tokens. Each action, which includes the rendering of a healthcare service, or the reviewing of outcomes, would be made possible by cryptocurrency.
A blockchain-based healthcare platform enables a more transparent and effective healthcare system for reasons such as:
Since the blockchain contains data in time-stamped blocks that chain together which are continuously added and archived, it becomes nearly impossible for outsiders to manipulate existing data or information within the distributed ledger. This means physician peer reviews and EMR records are immutable, and all financial transactions are recorded and verified.
The blockchain is a decentralized authority, which enables the creation of a self-governed, transparent ecosystem. There is no single source that controls or centralizes the published outcome.
While the interface enables P2P interaction, the blocks on the chain containing information on transactions, EMR, and reputation are not owned or controlled by any one entity.
Conclusion
We envision the solution we’ve described above as a global remedy to the drawbacks of current healthcare models. Working together we can turn this dream into a reality. Please follow @healthsapiens on Medium and watch as we bring our decentralized healthcare ecosystem to the masses.
About The Author
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
Sources
L. Rossiter, ‘RISING COSTS FOR HEALTHCARE: Implications for Public Policy’, Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy (2009)
Healthcare Blockchain technology is finally a reality. HealthSapiens envisions the democratization of healthcare: creating boundary-less freedom for choice while staying true to health and wellness principles for all. We do this through technological advances in communication, diagnosis, and collaboration.
The current HealthSapiens 1.0 platform includes a client-facing, browser-based app for managing healthcare, interaction between physicians and patients, scheduling appointments, and saving EMRs (Electronic Medical Records) that have been manually collected by patients from various legacy systems. This platform will remain the interface for HealthSapiens 1.0.
Coming Soon
The new HealthSapiens 2.0 will leverage the Ethereum blockchain and include the addition of our DOC token, which will be managed by smart contracts. Payments in DOC and other transactions will occur automatically, adding trust to our global system. Physician outcomes—based on accuracy—will be peer-reviewed and stored on the blockchain for an immutable record of performance that further leads to trust and good outcomes.
In addition, HealthSapiens 2.0 will create the HealthSapiens Legacy System, which, with patient permission, can automatically extract EMRs from various legacy systems worldwide and compile them to be stored in our secure and compliant off-chain database. Through Ethereum-based smart contracts, patients choose who to send access of their EMRs to, and can even choose to monetize and share their EMRs with researchers to earn tokens.
Finally, we will move away from a telemedicine-only platform, introducing real-world care such as in-person doctor visits to our network. DOC tokens will be used to pay for tests, procedures, treatments, medicine, and all other healthcare-associated costs, making DOC the only healthcare payment system users will need.
All of these additions are being developed by our HealthSapiens technology team. We are in the process of negotiating a partnership with The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab for further development.
Join Us
Join our movement to build a system of healthcare that puts prevention first, places patients’ needs at the forefront of consideration, and sees physician access as a paramount priority toward creating healthcare equality. Together, we can see this dream become a reality.
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
Healthcare systems around the globe are in trouble and something needs to be done to help move populations towards healthier lives. We are living in a healthcare crisis.
As mentioned in our previous blog post, healthcare is a universal human right according to the World Health Organization.
No healthcare model is perfect, and yes, “some healthcare” is certainly better than “no healthcare”. However, there is certainly room for improvement, and in this post, we’re going to explore the raw numbers and driving factors that are contributing to our current crisis in global healthcare.
The Size and Scope
Healthcare is a major expense worldwide and is estimated to account for $3 trillion in spending in the United States, and $6 trillion globally [1]. Combined healthcare spending in the five major world regions is expected to reach $8.7 Trillion by 2020 (up from $7 trillion in 2015 [2]). Global healthcare spending is projected to increase at an annual rate of 4.1% in 2017–2021, up from just 1.3 % in 2012–2016 [3].
Aging and increasing populations, developing market expansion in advanced medical treatment, and rising labor costs drive spending growth [4]. Still, global costs will vary wildly. Per-person healthcare spending will span from $11,356 per person per year in the U.S. to just $53 in Pakistan in 2021 [5].
Unfortunately, higher spending levels don’t always produce better health outcomes and value.
For example, the United States continues to spend considerably more on healthcare (16.9% of GDP in 2016) than comparable countries, but it is in the lower half of the life expectancy rankings, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [6]. Historically, the United States healthcare payment system has been predominantly a fee-for- service model [7], and this has enabled a model of healthcare whereby a large driving force is obtaining profit. This has undermined the consumer-centric nature of the healthcare field.
The U.S. healthcare system is currently perceived as experiencing a growing crisis in terms of the level of access it provides, its costs, and the quality of care provided [8]. Globally-speaking, access to quality healthcare has reached crisis levels in many developing nations [9].
A Global Crisis
From a global perspective, most nations on the planet are too poor, and their healthcare system too disorganized, to provide any kind of efficient mass medical care [10]. Clearly, such systems go against human ethics and create an even greater disparity — widening the gap between rich and poor.
The rich can afford healthcare, while the poor stay sick or die.
Worse yet, in rural regions of Africa, India, China, and South America, hundreds of millions of people go their whole lives without ever seeing a doctor [11]. They may scratch together enough money or barter to obtain some medical advice, or, they may only have access to a village healer using home remedies that may not be necessarily effective against disease [12].
Ironically, only the industrialized countries — perhaps 40 of the world’s 195 countries — have established healthcare systems, consolidated within each nation (Beveridge, Bismarck, National Health Insurance, and Out-of-Pocket) [15]. Almost all nations have a variant or fusion of these models, but there are still issues in every system despite the policy-makers’ best efforts.
4 Common Healthcare System Models
The Beveridge Model
This model is not in the best interests of the people. It relies on very high taxes for basic healthcare, without providing access or incentives for preventative care, thus raising the bar of healthcare expenditure.
The lack of individualization forces healthier people to be charged the same amount as the fatally sick. Canada is a highly cited example of a nation using a Beveridge Model.
2. The Bismarck Model
This model uses an insurance system which is usually financed jointly by employer and employees via payroll deduction. This system results in higher healthcare costs and diminishes efficiency. Cost issues are often addressed by raising premiums instead of controlling prices.
While the fixed price for procedures helps to control costs, the quality of healthcare from different providers varies. Most healthcare services are covered by a mandatory health insurance; beyond that, the patient co-pays for a portion of care at the time of treatment. This system, utilized in Germany, is flawed as it offers no alternative to compensate individuals for the rising costs implemented by the government, pharmaceutical, and private insurance companies.
3. The National Health Insurance Model
A more-democratic model used in Britain and Cuba which uses a government-run insurance program that every citizen contributes to. Citizens can use both public and private-sector providers. Despite the low costs of the National Health Insurance Model, however, there are several drawbacks. In an effort to control costs, patients wait longer to be treated.
4. The Out-of-Pocket Model
This model applies to a majority of the nations on the planet who lack an organized healthcare system. This system is clearly unregulated — healthcare costs are high and resources are limited. Patients are eligible for medical care only if they can afford the bill at the time of treatment. Otherwise, they get sick enough to warrant a visit to public emergency hospitals where the government has to cover all the costs.
Patients struggle to find the right doctors, and due to high costs are forced to seek physicians overseas who have competitive prices for otherwise expensive local medical care. Areas like Cambodia, Burkina Faso, and rural India default to this method of care.
Strikingly, the U.S. national healthcare apparatus is rather fragmented. It maintains separate systems for separate classes of people, and has incorporated elements of all of the above models.
When it comes to treating veterans, it’s like Britain or Cuba
For Americans over the age of 65 on Medicare, it’s like Canada
For working Americans who get insurance on the job, it’s like Germany
And for the 15% of the population who have no health insurance, the United States is like Cambodia or Burkina Faso, with access to an available doctor if you can pay the bill out-of-pocket at the time of treatment or you’re sick enough to be admitted to the emergency ward at the public hospital.
Conclusion
In our view, creating an open market in medicine helps answer many of the major healthcare problems faced internationally. Please read more on our website to see how HealthSapiens is decentralizing healthcare.
About The Author
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
Sources:
D. Munro , ‘U.S. Healthcare Hits $3 Trillion’, Forbes (2012)
World Industry Outlook, healthcare and pharmaceutical, The Economic Intelligence Unit, June, 2017
OECD Health Statistics 2016; Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service CMS “NH Tables” and “Historical and Projections 1960–2024” National Health Expenditure Projections, 2016–25, Health Affairs
L. Rossiter, ‘RISING COSTS FOR HEALTHCARE: Implications for Public Policy’, Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy (2009)
L. Rossiter, ‘RISING COSTS FOR HEALTHCARE: Implications for Public Policy’, Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy (2009)
Healthcare is a universal human right. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health includes not just freedom from disease, but prosperous conditions for the soul1. Only under those conditions can all people live the abundant lives they deserve.
Our Vision
HealthSapiens envisions the democratization of healthcare: creating boundary-less freedom for choice and staying true to health and wellness principles for all. We are here to stay true to the ideals of healthcare through global collaboration and the progression of humankind, one patient at a time.
Creating an incentive-driven ecosystem where all players are treated equally and rewarded properly, we envision a transparent and sustainable healthcare system that embodies efficiency, parity, cooperation, responsibility and candor for all users.
We advocate the shift from a break-fix model of healthcare to one focused on prevention and the overall holistic health of populations, rather than episodic and transaction-based treatments.
Our mission is to preserve the integrity of people’s health by creating a healthcare ecosystem that covers healthcare for all individuals from cradle to grave. This in turn incentivizes preventative care, therefore driving down costs and improving health in the long term.
Our goal is to improve clinical effectiveness by lowering costs, allocating accountability evenly, increasing access to quality healthcare globally, and empowering our users to become engaged in their health.
This vision drives the next phase of HealthSapiens’ technology: the introduction of the DOC token, a solution on the blockchain that improves access, accountability, transparency, and affordability to citizens worldwide.
Be sure to follow @healthsapiens on Medium to learn more about us and what we’re doing to bring our decentralized healthcare ecosystem to the masses.
About The Author
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
to healthcare is one of the primary problems affecting humankind. Communities without enough physicians or healthcare facilities are usually poor, and those lacking the means to travel are negatively impacted the most.
Karim Babay is Chairman & CEO of HealthSapiens, a nationwide healthcare provider that delivers on-demand access to healthcare anytime, anywhere, via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. Mr. Babay is also the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Intrinsic Value Investment Partners, a value-focused hedge fund. Mr. Babay has over 15 years of global investing, entrepreneurial and corporate finance experience allocating capital across the capital structure (credit and equity), angel investing, liquid and illiquid investments in securities. Mr. Babay has published numerous studies and analysis while at Columbia University. Mr. Babay is member of the board of directors and Chairman of the compensation committee of GLYECO, a publicly traded company, principally involved in processing of waste into high quality ethylene glycol. Mr. Babay received a B.S. in finance and economics from HEC Institute and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business.
The key to a stable economy, and to decentralize healthcare, is reaching a nexus of users who have incentive to both earn and spend. The same is true of a blockchain-based economy.
earchers pay DOC to HealthSapiens in exchange for access to patient EMR to use in their research. They can earn DOC by offering seminars to physicians or other researchers through the platform.
It’s well known that the global healthcare system is flawed. But HealthSapiens is changing that with decentralized healthcare. The 
Healthcare Blockchain technology is finally a reality. 
Healthcare systems around the globe are in trouble and something needs to be done to help move populations towards healthier lives. We are living in a healthcare crisis.
Healthcare is a universal human right. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health includes not just freedom from disease, but prosperous conditions for the soul1. Only under those conditions can all people live the abundant lives they deserve.