Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and an early Ethereum co‑founder, is investing $200 million to build a patient-centered medical clinic in Gillette, Wyoming. The project combines artificial intelligence and blockchain-style cryptography to test whether care can be cheaper, smarter and more humane than existing U.S. models.
Hoskinson, who says the American healthcare system is structured around perverse incentives, intends the clinic to prioritize patients over billing codes. The facility now serves roughly one-third of Gillette’s population and is intended as a prototype: if it succeeds, the model could be replicated elsewhere.
Technology is central to the plan. AI will assist — not replace — clinicians, offering daily, specialty-informed care plans, flagging drug interactions, transcribing visits and catching subtle clinical cues from patient histories. Hoskinson also envisions AI “companions” to help patients interpret medications, supplements and food labels.
On the privacy side, the project may use cryptographic tools such as selective disclosure and zero-knowledge proofs to verify attributes (for example, age or eligibility) without exposing full medical records. Hoskinson says the team will open-source protocols and software so other providers can implement the approach.
The initiative faces resistance from incumbent providers: Hoskinson alleges local hospitals have delayed credentialing for outside specialists and resisted collaboration. That pushback underscores both operational and regulatory hurdles any tech-forward care model must clear.
Why readers should care: The effort links blockchain-native leadership and Web3 principles with real-world healthcare delivery, testing whether decentralized privacy techniques and AI workflow tools can reduce costs and improve outcomes. That mix raises practical, legal and ethical questions about patient privacy, liability and reimbursement.
Risks: Regulatory hurdles, provider credentialing, data-privacy compliance and clinical safety are material risks. New tech in medicine requires careful oversight and demonstrable patient benefit before broad adoption.
Source: CoinDesk. Read the original coverage for full details.