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

Hewlett Packard Shows Interest In Bitcoin

It seems the company Hewlett-Packard (HP), is showing strong interest in Bitcoin and the technology behind it. The company tweeted out a HP blog article saying “ With Bitcoin, the contract is the entire transaction. Period.” The tweet leads to a written blogpost called “The Technology Behind Bitcoin Could Replace Lawyers, Too.” with a great deal of descriptive narrative on blockchain technology and smart contracts.

The financial system has changed and HP has recognized this. In the HP post the company says that we've all heard the “hype” of bitcoin, however their company believes the tech behind it is the “real promise.” Namely the blockchain and its ability to service smart contract management. The writer states:

“In Bitcoin, the contract is the transaction itself: one party sending another funds. But in commercial banking or investments, smart contracts could execute unknowably complex contingencies based on the terms of the contract, all in real-time, with total transparency to the agreeing parties.”

The company refers to the technology as “warp speed” in comparison to the financial and legal system of today. Wall Street, bankers and lawyers being said to be reaping in “small fortunes” on what the blockchain could do for free. Blockchain transactions are recorded on the longest ledger on the internet and cannot be tampered with. This keeps transactions very transparent to run and watch. Who watches the watchmen? Well, the blockchain does of course.

Hewlett-Packard showing support for Bitcoin and it's underlying technology shows the company has a keen interest in the protocol. On October of 2015 HP is expected to split from its product enterprise of computers, printers and services into two factions. The result will lead to two different publicly traded businesses. With many speculating that HP will focus vastly into the service and networking arena, the concept of Bitcoin could help them.

HP believes that Bitcoin is something Fortune 500 better look at. With quite a lot of innovation going into the technology it's only a matter of time that Fortune and others do notice. If just “ two nerds” succeed in this venture of making smart contract peer-to-peer and accessible. It's only a matter of time before “legions” of law officials and financial firms get disrupted. Not only the financial and legal industry of the past but also circumventing the IRS as well. 

“The question is: if two nerds on the Internet hold a transaction, does anyone care? The Fortune 500 had better. Innovators in the block chain space are experimenting with ways to use the protocol in B2B payments without all the usual limits on transaction volume. If they succeed, credit card companies, payments processors, and legions of accounting and law firms would be devastated.

That'll cost jobs but save billions for companies and individuals alike. But it also will increase the speed of transactions at all levels of the economy. With that kind of uptick in volume, the IRS might end up being the most disrupted entity of them all.”