This repository describes all the main stakeholders on the ecosystem
The Hearthy Co. distributed ledger will consist of the following stakeholders.
The Foundation’s amends and updates are the core of the system. Any node and token holder can propose an upgrade to the overarching system with a suggested price attached. If the majority of token holders find the tip useful, they will be able to send tokens to the proposer so that they can complete the upgrade with enough resources. The Foundation board itself, will also propose and develop upgrades as well as wield veto power, at least for the first 3 years after launch (the Foundation is extensively described in the previous sections of this paper).
The provider is a hospital, a healthcare professional, healthcare system, an insurance company...etc. Every provider buys enough tokens to maintain a node. By creating a node, the provider can ask any user for access. If the user consents, the provider is then able to access patient data in order to create a specific service. The provider is also able to send the user tokens for access. Furthermore, the provider can read and/or write data on the user’s PHR if the user agrees. As Hearthy Co. begins working with regions with uninsured/underinsured populations, the new ecosystem may be a great point of connection between providers and new healthcare users who will already have a PHR when the provider arrives.
The patient is the most important element of this innovative platform. Users will have various registration options. By default, the registration process uses only biometric identification utilizing just a selfie and a signature. Such systems create a unique user ID, which is recorded on the blockchain. The resulting selfie and signature are then stored on the device and all the information that circulates on the Internet is anonymized. Once a user is registered, a small amount of tokens is sent as a reward, which promotes engaging.
A user will access the ecosystem via an app/dapp. Hearthy Co. will develop the initial apps, but the environment is as open and fluid as possible to enable any organization to create its own apps/dapps. All services must be paid with tokens, and the user has to buy or obtain them through incentives. The providers can also send tokens to specific users in order to allow them to receive medical services (for example, some insurance companies may offer a variety of services inside the platform by buying and sending their policyholders a certain quantity of tokens every month, which could be used for prevention services, medication...etc.).
A user will not have karma, but they can post a positive or negative review of any other agent in the blockchain.
The medical researcher needs structured data for their clinical research. Every time a researcher creates a node on the network, he can create a request for all the desired data, including demographic information, and establish the price they are willing to pay per user. All the selected users then receive a notification within their apps asking them to share their data with the researcher. If the user agrees, all the data becomes visible for the researcher. However, this access will have an expiration date based on the associated smart contract. Hearthy Co. will also develop a dapp in order to make accessing the resulting data easier for researchers.
A researcher has a karma, which can be earned every time a user agrees to share their information. However, researchers lose karma when more users choose not to agree to share their data. In situations of extremely low karma, a researcher might be banned from the network. Researchers must be held accountable, hence the Foundation or any token holder can issue a petition for a researcher to share the outcomes of their research under certain conditions.
Through the new platform, every medical professional becomes a user on the blockchain as well as on the developer's app. The doctor delivers healthcare in markets created by app developers and providers, either in the form of telemedicine or an alternative means. The doctor sets a price for their services or makes an agreement with the provider and/or with the app developer. Every consultation a doctor makes carries a fee based on tokens. The tokens are digitally transferred from the patient’s wallet to the doctor’s wallet. Then, the doctor can convert them into FIAT currencies. Every doctor has a karma, so they are held accountable as well.
Hearthy Co. is also planning to develop specific tools that can aid doctors with diagnosing conditions more accurately.
Automations are crucial for the future of healthcare delivery. Automated apps, such as chatbots, are a prime example as they can help users manage tasks such as medication adherence or even carry out a complete treatment or diagnosis. Automated apps write and read on the blockchain as any other player. The app developer must buy enough tokens to manage the node and be able to set up a price for the service in form of tokens. Users, providers, or the Foundation itself can pay the associated fees.
By consensus, the Foundation can reward developers of automated agents with tokens in order to generate new business models and to test ideas. Tokens will be released when specific milestones are achieved (it could be based on health outcomes and/or on design/development states).
Hearthy Co. will deliver the first automated healthcare apps; one for medication adherence and a chatbot intended to work with depression/anxiety patients that is similar to the one designed by Standford University earlier this year. Automated agents will have their own wallets and the developer can use the tokens from these wallets for whatever purpose.
Automated agents have karma as well.
User patient data will be created by Hearthy and is intended to be inclusive of software developers. The goal is to create a suite of integrations that allow any EHR vendor to be integrated.