American medical board group launches Blockchain certification pilot

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The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced today that it would be the latest organization to test the use of Blockcerts, an open-source, bitcoin-based standard developed by Learning Machine Technologies and the MIT Media Lab. The non-profit organization used technology to create digital records for both undergraduates and graduates of medical certificates.

Although most of the groups to date have tried to test this standard, they have been academic institutions, the FSMB pilot is a notable precedent in the medical field. The FSMB dates back to the early 20th century and has the 70 state medical and osteopathic regulatory boards in the U.S. The materials published on the Internet suggest that the pilot began last month, although it is currently unclear whether the FSMB will consider any technology applications beyond the scope of the pilot.

In a statement, Michael Dugan, the FSMB’s chief information officer, said that verification of medical education and related authorities is a critically important task. The company hopes that the further success of this pilot can provide the level of confidence necessary for the introduction of blockchain technologies in the process of medical licensing and certification.