Overview
Similar to the gaming industry, the metaverse blurs lines between virtual and real life with avatars that represent our physical and spiritual essence. Although in its infancy state, we have begun to unlock how to use this newly created metaphysical space, its tools and accoutrements, to learn, interact, and interface with others - someday perhaps, through time. For now, this realm presents tangible novel educational, social, and economic possibilities. Yet, similar to the digital health field, the challenge in healthcare is to insure ethical and equitable opportunity for all.

As the demand for intelligent technology and practical applications increase, smart solutions to workforce, home health, life expectancy, and the overall practice of medicine morphs into virtual self care, we slowly come to the realization that humanity is undergoing a transformative elevation in consciousness, origin, and applied intelligence.

To this end, Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY) has created a special issue for multidisciplinary researchers, business, and creators to share and demonstrate how the metaverse can improve healthcare operations, outcomes, user and workforce satisfaction, increase economic opportunity and unveil new and projected financial implications for global health citizens.

How can data monetization, value based care, self care, and technology coexist to create a world economy that incentivizes positive health behaviors and outcomes such as adherence to therapeutic regimens and healthy lifestyle? How will the industry transform, resize, and retool, and what do legal, regulatory and economists predict?

Finally, how will distributed ledger technology provide secure interface between a multitude of layers ultimately used to create new revenue streams across global healthcare systems, providers, and patients, and governing bodies? Are there risks and ethical concerns of using blockchain-based monetization models in healthcare?

Multidisciplinary experts are invited to contribute research and findings including scholars, graduate students, post docs, researchers, consultants, business, health systems, not-for-profits, health professionals, and startups, to develop and submit research that instills informed discussions to explore how theories, pilot projects, and real world findings are developing a new dimension in health and metaphysical realities.

Topics
Multidisciplinary authors and futurists around the globe are invited to submit original research articles, reviews, and short technical reports (2,500 words), on the latest findings and state-of-the-art results, pilots, and other scientific and novel marketplace reviews, innovations, and opinions on topics including, but not limited to:
 

• NFTs
  • NFT-based Identity Authentication, and Security Protocols
  • Non-Fungible Token Minting and Marketplaces
  • Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Alternative Finance: Digitalization,
  • Decentralization, and Tokenization
  • Play-To-Earn Games, and Play-To-Earn Tokens 
  • Strategic Pricing of NFT Based Assets 
  • The Business Models of NFT Marketplaces 
  • Asset Pricing Variables and Options for NFTs 
  • Venture Capital Investment and Sentiment for Healthcare NFT Markets 
  • NFT Datasets, Meta Analysis, and Novel Concepts 
• Benefits and Challenges of Integrating Digital Twins Across Real and Virtual Worlds
• Early Stage Failed and Scaled Services, Platforms, Architectures, and Business Models
• 6G Techniques, Computational Algorithms, and Architectures
• User Experience and Avatars Including Media (AI) CODECS
  • Efforts and Results to Bring Patients Closer to Providers and Investigators
• Proposed Metaverse Standards, Guidelines, and Ethical Considerations
• Benefits and Challenges of Integrating Blockchain Technology with XR Technologies Including The Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Haptic Devices 
• Blockchain Tech & Oracles for DeFi, NFTs, Tokenized Real World Assets, Gaming, Insurance, Supplychain, and Decentralized Identity 
• Privacy and Privatizing Health Data Including New and Proposed International Law(s)
• Sustainability, Social Good, and Cross Boarder Interoperability
• Experimental Demonstrations, Prototypes, and Methodologies
• Smart Home Tech, Health Facilities, and Healthcare Games for Patient Populations (Pediatric – Senior) Intelligent Systems and Technologies
• Custom Dapps and Smart Contracts
• Data Monetization and Tokenomics

Key Dates
Accepted papers will be published continuously in BHTY (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together in the Annual BHTY Research Compendium as a collection. 

Submission not appropriate for BHTY will be considered for Telehealth and Medicine Today (THMT).

Submission Guidelines
Manuscripts and Reports should present new, original results that are unpublished. Please prepare your manuscript as per BHTY guidelines. Guidelines are the same for TMHT.

To submit a manuscript to this BHTY theme issue, please visit https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/about/submissions. Be sure you have first registered. Include your ORCID ID or obtain one here.  Click the selection “Special Issue” for your submission.

Your manuscript will undergo full peer-review consistent with BHTY criteria here. All papers will appear together as a “collection” in the annual compendium.

APC
The theme issue Article Processing Charge (APC) is discounted and will be $650.00 USD. Waivers are available as per the BHTY Waiver Policy.

BHTY is Indexed In:

• PubMed and PubMed Central
• SCOPUS 
• Engineering Village
• ScienceOpen
• Unpaywall
• NEBIS
• Google Scholar
• Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research (GFMER)
• Index Copernicus
• ProQuest Health & Medical Complete
• ProQuest Public Health
• ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Program
• R Discovery

BHTY Theme Issue Editors

• Wendy Charles, PhD, CIP, CCRP, CBP, Chief Scientific Officer, BurstIQ, USA
• Jason Cross, PhD, JD, Co-Founder, Rymedi, USA
• Lory Kehoe, Director, Coinbase, Ireland
• Sweta Sneha, PhD, Executive Director of Healthcare Management Informatics. Professor of Information Systems, Coles College of Business, Kennesaw University, USA
• Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes MD, MBA, FACHE, MDMBA, CEO, SoftThread, Chief Quality & Innovation Officer, MEDNAX, USA

Editors-in-Chief

• Bill Buchanan, OBE, Professor, School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University; Fellow of the BCS, United Kingdom
• John D. Halamka, MD, MS, President, Mayo Clinic Platform, USA

About
Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY) is the leading international open access journal that amplifies and disseminates distributed ledger technology research and innovations in the healthcare information systems, clinical computing, network technologies and biomedical sciences. Fields of interest include leveraging data science tools and techniques, health information systems interoperability, consent mechanisms, privacy preservation, security of health data, clinical support and clinical trials management, supply chain management, revenue cycle automation, immersive technologies, DAOs, tokenomics, and failed experiments in this specialty field of research. The preeminent international journal is published on a continuous basis to accelerate sharing rigorously vetted theoretical and experiential knowledge required for a global multi-disciplinary ecosystem. A world-class peer review board offers constructive commentary to strengthen work.