Streamlining Eldercare Series - Part 2: Cryptocurrency Use in Eldercare Sector: Now or Never!

Streamlining Eldercare Series

This three-part series examines how eldercare in Singapore can evolve into a more cost-effective and sustainable system.

Singapore faces the challenge of an ageing population, with more individuals living longer and requiring complex care. The eldercare system must evolve to become more sustainable, effective, and person-centered. This three-part series explores how eldercare can be transformed to address these pressing needs.

• Part 1: Focuses on the individualized care of dependent older adults transitioning from hospitalization. Article can be found here.
• Part 2: Explores bold, transformative solutions to enhance Singapore’s eldercare ecosystem.
• Part 3: Highlights strategies to empower older adults to adopt healthier lifestyles and prevent future dependency. Article can be found here.

Cryptocurrency Use in Eldercare Sector: Now or Never!

Introduction

The rise of nationally backed and issued cryptocurrencies, such as the Digital Renminbi (RMB), is gaining momentum worldwide. While cryptocurrency has primarily been associated with financial markets, its potential applications extend to various sectors, including healthcare and eldercare. In Singapore, the eldercare sector presents a unique opportunity to leverage cryptocurrency for improving efficiency, transparency, and accessibility in funding and caregiving services.

The Complexity of Eldercare Funding in Singapore

Singapore has a robust system of grants and subsidies for eldercare, catering to different degrees of disabilities and socioeconomic statuses. However, navigating the intricate network of financial assistance schemes can be overwhelming for older adults and their caregivers. The challenge lies in understanding eligibility criteria, application processes, and the varying disbursement mechanisms across different funding agencies.

A unified cryptocurrency-based payment system for eldercare services could streamline this process. By integrating grants, insurance payouts, and other government financial assistance into a single digital currency, stakeholders can ensure that funds are used appropriately and efficiently.

The Wellderly Concept: A Blockchain-Based Solution for Senior Care

The concept of utilizing blockchain for eldercare payments was first explored in the 2018 White Paper for Wellderly. Wellderly if it was successful then, might have been the world’s first blockchain-based platform for senior care, incorporating an internal cryptocurrency to incentivize healthy behaviours and active volunteerism among seniors. The platform’s key features include:

• Secure Storage of Senior Data: Senior administration data is securely stored on the blockchain, ensuring that all stakeholders have access to a shared, tamper-proof version of the truth.
• Irrefutable and Unalterable Information: The blockchain structure ensures data integrity, reducing fraudulent claims and errors.
• Integration with Existing Databases: Blockchain acts as middleware, connecting existing care service provider databases and organizations, facilitating seamless information exchange.
• Administrative Efficiency Gains: Automating verification processes and fund disbursement through smart contracts minimizes bureaucratic delays.
• Wellderly Tokens as a Payment Mechanism: These tokens enable seamless transactions for eldercare services, healthcare products, hospitalizations, nursing home stays, and even caregiver employment.

Advantages of a Cryptocurrency-Based Eldercare System

1. Ensuring Proper Fund Utilization

A significant concern in eldercare financing is the potential misuse of funds. By allowing transactions only with vetted vendors, the cryptocurrency ensures that grants and insurance payouts are used strictly for eldercare-related expenses. This approach eliminates risks associated with fraudulent claims, misuse of cash, or funds being spent on non-essential items.

2. Real-Time Demand Insights and Market Preparation

A blockchain-based transaction system enables real-time data collection on eldercare consumption trends. With seamless transactions, service providers, government agencies, and vendors can analyse purchasing behaviours and better anticipate demand. This data-driven approach can lead to improved resource allocation, ensuring that eldercare services remain sustainable and well-stocked.

3. Smart Contracts for Automated and Hassle-Free Transactions

Smart contracts, self-executing agreements stored on the blockchain, can revolutionize eldercare transactions by automating payments and approvals. For example:

• If an older adult purchases a wheelchair from a vetted vendor, a smart contract can instantly verify their eligibility for a government subsidy and process the payment without manual intervention.
• Nursing home payments can be automated through verified care plans, reducing administrative overhead and delays.
• Insurance claims for long-term care can be instantly processed based on real-time medical reports stored on the blockchain.

4. Efficient and Secure Data Sharing Among Stakeholders

A major inefficiency in eldercare arises from fragmented data management across different organizations. Blockchain technology enables controlled data sharing where:

• Healthcare providers, insurers, and government agencies can access verified records, reducing redundant paperwork and improving care coordination.
• Vendors, such as medical equipment suppliers, can verify disability status and socioeconomic eligibility before completing transactions, ensuring quicker service provision.
• Caregivers and family members can monitor fund usage transparently, reducing financial exploitation risks.

5. Simplifying Caregiver Hiring and Training Grant Disbursement

Employing trained caregivers, whether local or migrant, involves multiple layers of approvals, insurance verification, and wage disbursements. A cryptocurrency system can:

• Facilitate direct payments to registered caregivers through smart contracts, ensuring compliance with Ministry of Manpower regulations.
• Automate the disbursement of caregiver training grants based on successful course completion, encouraging skill development.
• Ensure that caregivers receive timely salaries and benefits without intermediaries, reducing wage-related disputes.

6. Government Grants and Insurance Payouts in Cryptocurrency

One of the most transformative aspects of a national cryptocurrency in eldercare is its potential to replace cash-based grant disbursements. Grants for home care services, nursing homes, mobility aids, and home modifications can be directly issued in digital currency. The benefits of such a system include:

• Eliminating Misuse: Since cryptocurrency transactions are restricted to vetted eldercare-related expenses, it prevents misuse on non-essential purchases like alcohol or cigarettes.
• Reducing Fraud: Blockchain-based transactions are immutable, making fraudulent claims nearly impossible.
• Faster Access to Funds: Seniors and caregivers can receive financial assistance instantly, removing bureaucratic delays associated with traditional banking methods.

Implementing a Pilot Program in Singapore

A structured pilot program can test the feasibility of using cryptocurrency in Singapore’s eldercare sector before a full-scale rollout. The pilot can:

• Begin with select eldercare services, such as home medical care, caregiver hiring, and medical equipment procurement.
• Partner with major hospitals, insurance providers, and government agencies like the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
• Implement gradual phases, starting with government-backed grants being disbursed in cryptocurrency, followed by insurance claims and private payments.
• Assess regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, and public adoption through continuous evaluation.

Future Prospects: Expanding to the Broader Healthcare Sector

Once the eldercare sector successfully adopts cryptocurrency-based payments, the model can be extended to the broader healthcare system. This could include:

• Hospital and Clinic Payments: Using cryptocurrency for medical bills and insurance claims.
• Pharmaceutical Supply Chains: Enhancing traceability and accountability in medication distribution.
• Telemedicine and Home Healthcare: Facilitating seamless payments for remote consultations and home-based treatments.

Conclusion

The time to integrate cryptocurrency into Singapore’s eldercare sector is now. The inefficiencies in fund disbursement, lack of transparency in financial aid, and administrative burdens can be significantly reduced with blockchain technology. The Wellderly concept, pioneered in 2018, is now more viable than ever, with advancements in digital currencies and national-level adoption of blockchain solutions.

By implementing a nationally backed eldercare cryptocurrency, Singapore can lead the way in revolutionizing healthcare financing, ensuring that its aging population receives the support they need efficiently and transparently. A pilot program can set the foundation for a broader adoption of cryptocurrency in the healthcare sector, ultimately creating a more sustainable, equitable, and technologically advanced eldercare ecosystem.