doc.com Launches First Healthcare Service Platform Providing Free, Basic Healthcare Through Video Calls in the United States
The platform is powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology that connects U.S. users with a global, multilingual network of doctors
doc.com (formerly Docademic) — the only healthcare service platform that provides free, basic healthcare through live video calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week — today announced its launch in the United States. The docHealth app, which is already used in over 20 countries, is now available for download and use by Florida residents (see links below). docHealth will be expanding throughout the United States, starting with the Southeastern states. The company is creating a global, decentralized healthcare system, powered by the world’s largest public healthcare blockchain, that will use public health data insights to improve healthcare for all of humanity.
Many patients, especially those in underserved markets, often need immediate care but lack access to hospitals or doctors because they either live too far away or cannot pay for services. For these patients, there is no convenient, immediate way to access the healthcare system. Moreover, even for insured patients who need care at night or on the weekends, the average cost of urgent care visits ranges from $50 to $150 in the U.S., depending on the patient’s co-pay and level of treatment. So affordable access to quality healthcare is an issue for millions of Americans.
The docHealth app helps solve this problem by enabling users to instantly connect with a doctor with the tap of a finger — free of charge. If a docHealth doctor cannot resolve the patient’s issue during the video consultation, the patient is referred to a specialist for further diagnosis and/or treatment.
“Access is the most important problem facing the global healthcare industry today,” said Charles Nader, CEO of doc.com. “It is our goal to provide free, basic healthcare to anyone, at anytime, and to help the world transition to a stronger, decentralized and universal healthcare system. We are so excited to deploy the U.S. leg of this initiative, starting in Florida.”
By 2019, 95% of the nation’s top employers (companies with more than 500 employees) will provide telemedicine coverage as part of their benefits package, according to a new joint study by America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care.
But despite its growth, telemedicine providers have not found a model to offer high quality, basic healthcare free of charge for consumers – or even significant discounts for corporations. Of course, costs (and market education) are a key barrier to widespread option. Employers pay a PEPM (per employee per month) cost and employees pay for each telemedicine consultation. docHealth aims to disrupt the corporate benefits industry by offering considerably lower prices to employers than current market prices and no co-pay per consultation for employees or employers.
docHealth is able to do this through its innovative tokenomics model and blockchain technology. docHealth patients get rewarded with the company’s cryptocurrency (MTC) in exchange for sharing and uploading their anonymized data (e.g., blood test results) via the docHealth mobile app. Patients will be able to spend MTC tokens on healthcare products and services, such as extra consults with specialists, in the doc.com Marketplace. Private healthcare providers, governments, and medical research and educational institutions will use MTC in order to access anonymous patient and/or healthcare data. The MTC token can also be used as a tradeable crypto asset on exchanges. The value of the token is linked to the integration and access of data, as more healthcare and patient data is integrated and accessed in the doc.com ecosystem, the value of that data and the MTC token increases in tandem.
Unlike other blockchain healthcare or telemedicine companies, docHealth combines AI and blockchain technologies with human doctors to provide free basic healthcare 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The doc.com blockchain also empowers doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers to manage industry and anonymized patient data in a much more cost-effective, transparent and secure way.
The docHealth app is available for download on iOS App Store and Google Play Store.