Last updated on July 15th, 2023 at 08:24 pm
Blockchain is one of the most disruptive technologies worldwide, and applying the technology to any industry can offer tremendous benefits. Numerous industries can benefit from using blockchain technology and improve the functioning of their business. The Dental Care industry is no exception; the adoption of blockchain technology can be a game-changer for the industry.
In this article, we will talk about the use cases of blockchain in the Dental Care industry and learn more about Dentacoin, also known as the Bitcoin of Dentistry.
Let’s dive in!
Blockchain In Dental Care: An Overview
Across the Dental Care industry, innovators have been exploring ways to use blockchain and make their business operations more efficient by transforming the business models. In 2017, the Dental Care industry was introduced to blockchain technology in Dentacoin, a platform powered by blockchain that allows users to send secure transactions.
While most of the use cases of blockchain technology in the Dental Care industry revolve around the safe exchange and storage of patient data, there are many different use cases that the industry can benefit from. This is because the adoption of blockchain technology can offer the following benefits:
- Transparency – Through blockchain technology, the transaction history between patients and doctors can become transparent. This is because blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, where all the network participants, i.e., the patients and the dentists, can share the same records or documentation instead of having their own individual copies that can be tampered with. To make changes to a document stored on the blockchain, there needs to be a consensus among all the parties involved, and thus, the documents stored on a blockchain are considered more trustworthy, consistent, and transparent. Moreover, when everyone has access to the same information, it becomes easier for everyone to trust the system.
- Greater security – Blockchain is much more secure than the traditional record-keeping systems currently used extensively in the Dental Care Industry. This is mainly because when transactions are approved on a blockchain, they get encrypted and linked to other transactions stored on a network of servers instead of a single server. Thus, by eliminating the single point of failure in the network, using a blockchain makes it much harder for hackers to break into the system. Since the Dental Care industry deals with handling sensitive patient data, the prevention of fraud and data theft is paramount, and this is where blockchain can help make the system more secure.
- Traceability of data – Using blockchain technology, patients in the Dental Care industry can access the audit trail of different products prescribed to them by the doctors. By tracing an item back to its origin, patients can ensure that they are using authentic products and thus prevent being misled.
- Improved efficiency and speed – Blockchain technology can help streamline and automate all the manual processes related to business operations in the Dental Care industry. Doing so will help make the system more efficient and increase the speed at which things are done.
- Reduce costs – By removing the intermediaries involved in the Dental Care industry, Blockchain technology also helps reduce costs. Instead of relying on mediators to execute transactions and store data, blockchain technology enables participants to trust the immutable data on the blockchain as everyone can access it.
Use Cases Of Blockchain In The Dental Care Industry
Having understood the benefits of using blockchain technology, let’s take a look at some of the uses cases of blockchain in the Dental Care industry:
1. Electronic Dental Records
There are no standards for record-keeping in the Dental Care industry as different companies tend to use different software for storing patient data. Moreover, since this software is controlled by the companies, patients have to give up control of their data and trust the Dental Care company and the software company involved not to misuse sensitive information.
Furthermore, the software used for record-keeping is typically based on a centralized database. This makes it much easier for hackers to access patients’ private information as the entire database has a single point of failure. Thus, if the hackers manage to break into the server, nothing can be done to secure the data.
Blockchain technology fixes the problems associated with dental records as it offers the following benefits:
- Patients are the custodians of their data – Since all the data stored on a blockchain can be accessed by all the parties involved, patients have control over their data. Any changes made to the data will require their permission.
- Removing the single point of failure – Blockchain uses distributed ledger technology that stores data on a network controlled by different network participants instead of having a centralized server in the Dentist’s office.
2. Dental Insurance
Traditionally, Dental Insurance has involved multiple intermediaries such as agents and brokers. As a result, the process is highly inefficient, and there are increased costs associated with getting Dental Insurance.
Moreover, insurance is one aspect in the Dental Care industry that lacks the adoption of electronic processes to help make the system more efficient. According to a report by the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) titled, “A Report of Health Care Industry Adoption of Electronic Business Transactions and Cost Savings“, the Dental industry has been slow in adopting electronic solutions. The report says, “While dental providers continue to file more insurance claims electronically and submit claims electronically, adoption of electronic clinical processes by dental providers remains low, even though eliminating costly manual transactions represents huge potential cost savings.”
All the problems mentioned above have made filing for and claiming Dental Insurance a pain in the industry. However, by adopting blockchain technology and using smart contracts, this process can be simplified. Moreover, blockchain will also help remove the intermediaries involved, thus reducing the costs associated with Dental Insurance.
Dentacoin: The Bitcoin Of Dentistry
Dentacoin is a blockchain-based solution that provides a great model for others in the Dental Care industry. Currently, the platform has over 2200 Dentists and 304k+ active users and subscribers.
Here’s how Dentacoin works:
- Patients pay a monthly fee to Dentacoin for receiving treatment from a doctor on the platform. This transaction is executed using a smart contract.
- To incentivize patients to look after the health of their teeth, they are provided with tokens that can be accessed by using the aftercare Dentacoin application.
The different tools and functions offered by Dentacoin are as follows:
- DentaVox Surveys – It is a market research platform that collects data from users through surveys about the Dental Care Industry. Users are given incentives to participate in the survey in the form of Dentacoins (DCN).
- Dentacoin Assurance – It is a contract between the doctor and the patient that entitles them to dental care services. The terms and conditions of this agreement are executed using a smart contract.
- Dentacare Mobile Application – The Dentacoin application is the platform where patients can earn rewards in DCN for keeping their teeth healthy.
As a doctor, using Dentacoin offers the following benefits:
- Valuable feedback via trusted reviews that are stored on the blockchain.
- Additional income and innovative payment methods.
- Improved online presence and search rank.
- Healthier and happier patients as they are offered incentives.
- Market overview via free DentaVox stats.
In Conclusion…
- The Dental Care industry is prime for disruption. However, traditionally it has been slow to adopt electronic solutions. While blockchain technology can revolutionize the Dental Care industry, it all comes down to how quickly the stakeholders agree to adopt the technology.
So, what do you think about the use of blockchain in the dental care industry? Are there any interesting use cases that we missed out on?
Comment below and let us know what you think!
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