The first hospital to accept bitcoin payments was Medicover in Warsaw, Poland

On October 24, 2014, Medicover Hospital in Warsaw, Poland became the world’s first hospital to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Medicover, a leading private healthcare provider, recognized the potential of Bitcoin to provide a more efficient and seamless payment method for its patients. The hospital’s decision to accept Bitcoin was particularly aimed at catering to the needs of its international patients, who came from over 20 countries worldwide.
 

The hospital’s IT team set up a payment platform to process Bitcoin transactions, ensuring that patients could easily pay for a wide range of healthcare services, including major surgeries. Medicover’s flagship facility in Warsaw’s Wilanow district was the first to offer this service, with plans to extend it to other centers if it proved popular.
 

To further facilitate Bitcoin transactions, Medicover planned to launch a Bitcoin ATM at the hospital. This would make the process of paying with Bitcoin even more accessible for patients and visitors. The adoption of Bitcoin by Medicover Hospital was part of a broader trend of businesses exploring the use of digital currencies. However, Medicover’s move was particularly notable due to the scale of services offered and the hospital’s commitment to transparent pricing policies. The hospital developed a Bitcoin price list for every type of care, converting the International Diagnosis Resource Grouping (DRG) price list to a Bitcoin equivalent, dubbed the ‘BTC-DRG’ price list.