Described in a Digital Journal article last month (“Incentive based digital feedback of dental devices“), a new cryptocurrency has been launched by the Dentacoin Foundation. The aim of the currency, called ‘dentacoin’ and founded by Professor Dimitrakiev, is to entice dental patients to provide feedback about dental services given by dentists in Europe. The Foundation is based in the Netherlands.
The motivation behind the currency is to encourage people to provide online feedback about dental services. Instead of praising or criticizing a dentist to a friend, the scheme aims to shed some light on the dental industry and help the industry through more robust and patient-focused feedback. Each time a person creates a review, they will be awarded an amount of dentacoins. It is hoped that dentists react to this direct patient feedback and take time to see how their patients feel and apply changes where needed in order to improve their service quality. According to the Foundation, in communication with Digital Journal, “As access to health care continues to dwindle around the world, Dentacoin wants to hold a mirror in front of the dental industry to make sure people who need access to dental care can get it.”
Since Digital Journal first reported on the scheme, patients can now use dentacoins to pay for future dental treatments or procedures that they need at participating dental practices. Alternatively, a patient can opt to use the cryptocurrency as a store of value (as a Bitcoin can be used).
The wide acceptance of the currency follows the completion of a pre-sale phase. Over $2 million dollars was raised and the coins are already traded on four exchange platforms. The next phase will see the development of an industry-specific insurance model to give people more options when it comes to paying for their dental treatments and care.
