Showing posts with label Cryptography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cryptography. Show all posts

Friday, July 31, 2015

Save Lives - Earn Bitcoin with new EMS SignPost Software




Have you ever wanted to be paid - in Bitcoin, to help save lives?

Cincinnati-based EMS SignPost is developing a system that connects EMS personnel to critical, up-to-date medical data. EMS SignPost's parent company, EC Link Inc., has a track record of implementing Bitcoin tech in some its products. They want their new product to compensate those who help keep the system current.

Disclosure: Garrett Keirns, the author of this piece, is employed by EC Link, Inc. as an independent contractor.

The backbone of the system is an NFC embedded magnet. The magnet links to a unique - and encrypted - URL that hosts a person's medical data. The data includes medical history, current medication, and physician and family contact information. Another important feature is the ability to upload Advanced Directive documents such as "Do No Resuscitate" orders and power of attorney paperwork that can be critical to EMS personnel during an emergency. Users can sign over administrative rights to friends and family. This feature is especially important for those who aren't technically savvy.

Currently, the EMS SignPost system is running in a few, limited jurisdictions. However, there are plans for expansion. The target buyers are Fire Departments and municipalities. There is an annual licensing fee to cover hosting and development. The fee increases linearly based on the population of the area served. And, of course, this fee can be paid in Bitcoin as well as fiat. 

The developers plan to add a bounty program that rewards contributors – in Bitcoin – to keep medical information current. The exact amount of money paid out is unclear. A proprietary algorithm is being developed to identify the most high-risk people in the system. The higher the risk – the higher the payout. The Bitcoin bounties give participants (or his/her family and friends) an incentive to maintain the system. The EMS SignPost developers expect hospital, insurance companies, and local governments to help finance this bounty program. New United States Medicare laws penalize hospitals for repeated Emergency Room visits. The new rules create an incentive to treat and diagnose problems correctly the first time.

The Bitcoin blockchain will also provide reliable time stamping to verify the integrity of documents uploaded in the EMS SignPost system. Applications like Proof of Existence demonstrate how information embeds itself into the global decentralized Bitcoin ledger. A cryptographic hash of the document latches on the blockchain. The cryptographic alphanumerical string can only be reproduced with the presence of the original file.

EMS personnel are being trained to take on a greater role in the field. This trend is especially true in rural and impoverished areas. Community Paramedicine, as it is called in North America, is the concept of equipping EMS crews with the correct tools – technological and legal – to carry out this new role.

The company plans to offer more than just refrigerator magnets for citizens using their program. They are also pioneering the use of NFC-embedded bracelets and wallet cards. To maintain HIPAA compliance in the United States, EMS SignPost developers take security seriously. Only authorized personnel can view and edit patient information. Two-factor authentication programs, already popular in the Bitcoin community, will protect accounts from unauthorized logins.

What do you think of Blockchain based EMS info and NFC capability?

Image Source: EMS Signpost

Monday, July 13, 2015

The Blockchain: Towards Crypto-Sovereignty


This article was written by Sterlin Lujan

Bitcoin represents the epitome of success for blockchain tech -- but this is just the start. The applications for the technology are manifold. They can potentially solve a myriad of social problems, especially in regards to government corruption and inefficiency. This new direction in digital problem-solving will generate peace of mind in the populace because it will instill people with the near certainty that their institutions are being honest, forthright, and civil.

Also read: Gold-Backed Cryptocurrencies: Innovative or Redundant?

Bitcoin transactions showcase two elegant traits: they are anonymous and transparent. This means a person can maintain their privacy; however, if they are part of a business and they need to be open about their actions, they can provide public information on the blockchain. This implies no more secrets from them. No more machinations. No more indecency. The public ledger of the blockchain tells all, especially if public interest dictates the desire for that knowledge, and those businesses want to likewise prove their trust.


How Open Source Ledgers Remedy Corruption

Imagine a corrupt security firm or night-watchman government. The corruptions and evils of these agencies could easily be snuffed out by the protocols on the blockchain, because the protocols would act as guards against human error. In other words, the ugly portion of human behavior can be "controlled" without infringing on individual rights.

This is essentially a capitalistic fix. It creates a way for the market to regulate various organizations without resorting to anti-civilized barbarity. It is technological regulation. If people see an institution being nefarious or fraudulent via the blockchain, they can simply cease their business or boycott them. This occurs because the blockchain is an open source public ledger, which records all transactions in a transparent fashion.

This trait provides society with a kind of mass crypto-sovereignty. People can exercise total freedom, but maintain power over their economic and social interactions. It is a brilliant answer to the question of how society will run without the State, or how chaos can be mitigated in the absence of political control.

The Ghost Outside the Machine, and the Cryptoscopic Environment

Blockchain solutions are the apotheosis of digitally impelled self-ownership, and there will not be anything to stop the momentum. Like Julie Tourianski said of Bitcoin, blockchain tech is "the ghost outside the machine." It is the tool that annihilates the need for an overseer. It absolutely eliminates any incentive for control-freak personalities, because they can no longer thrive in the cryptoscopic environment.

Here are some examples of cryptoscopic transactions: the blockchain could be used to conduct audits without ever needing in a central planner. A business could handle this auditing process without having to engage in petty politics or deal with crippling bureaucracy. The tech could also allow people to agree on contracts, or sell titles and deeds, and share that information when necessary. Medical documentation could even be distributed safely. The options are legion.

These ideas, of course, are mostly speculative, but the answers are in the palm of humanity's hand. The technology exists. All that is left is to instill that idea that crypto-sovereignty is an important step for society. People only have to take the initiative, and move towards fulfilling their digital dreams of security and safety.

What are some ways you think the blockchain can improve society? Let us know in the coments below!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Bitcoin.com.