Blockchain MD: Healthcare Applications

In this episode, our co-hosts Dr. Tim Yates and Dr. Aaron Fritts invite Dr. Leah Houston, founder and CEO of Humanitarian Physicians Empowerment Community (HPEC), to discuss blockchain technology and how she is applying it to healthcare.

Dr. Houston describes how she was initially introduced to blockchain through investing; however, she learned more about the technology and felt compelled to seek ways to use the technology to decentralize healthcare and allow physicians to regain autonomy as well as patient trust. She describes her vision of creating self-sovereign identities (SSI) for physicians that would allow them to carry digital assets like credentials, medical documentation, and payments. From the patient’s perspective, SSI could help them easily access their medical records.

HPEC is a physician-owned and physician-led company that aims to help them regain control over their practice of medicine. Dr. Houston describes the process of crowdfunding through other physicians and friends/family that has allowed her team to develop and test their product, a mobile application. She encourages any interested physician to get involved in development and/or pilot testing through the HPEC website.