Making medical history portable
If the thought of carrying around your medical information appeals to you but the idea of embedding a computer chip under your skin to do it creeps you out, Dr. Carl Franzblau has an alternative for you.
Franzblau, an associate dean of graduate medical sciences and chairman of the biochemistry department at Boston University, has introduced a simple USB device for storing personal medical information that also doubles as a fob for your keys.
Called Med-InfoChip, the unit looks like a typical USB ''thumb" drive, save for its garish yellow color. A single-user version sells for $69.95; a double-user edition for $99.95.
When you plug the unit into a USB port, you can access it as you would any external drive. A CD is included with the InfoChip for users with older computers that need a software driver to use a USB port.
A nice design feature of the InfoChip is that its USB plug slides into its housing when not in use so there are no caps or covers to misplace.
After launching the fob's software -- which runs directly from the InfoChip so you don't have to install anything on your computer -- a screen appears where you fill in your name, click a button to insert the day's date, and press ''start." That takes you to a table of contents for the categories in the program that contain your medical information.
In the general medical information, for example, you can type in you personal identification data, information for emergency contacts, and even import a photo of yourself.
There are also categories for prior and present medical conditions, allergies, immunizations, and prostheses.
In addition, documents can be scanned into the InfoChip, such as EKG results, birth certificates, and X-rays.
If you share the device with your medical care provider, there's a place for physicians' and nurses' notes.
''It's strictly a kiosk format," Franzblau explained. ''It's like purchasing a ticket at the airport. There are no toolbars and menus to frighten people."
While embedding a computer chip with a radio transmitter under someone's skin may be a sexy solution to toting around medical information, Franzblau believes his approach to be more practical and less daunting.
He explained that in order to extract information from subcutaneous chips, which use radio frequency identification technology, a scanner must be held in close proximity to them.
What's more, the chip only contains a code that allows someone to access a patient's information from the Internet.
''My chip is universal," he asserted. ''It's a simple flash drive with all the software onboard."
If a person is involved in a medical emergency, he continued, a medical technician can take the chip, pop it into a laptop, click an emergency button and all a patient's vitals are displayed--medical conditions, allergies, medications, weight, height, blood pressure, even a prior EKG.
If a person isn't involved in a medical emergency, Franzblau added, he can print the contents of the chip in the form of a booklet, complete with table of contents, which can be used in situations where computer access is unavailable.
Although security of medical information is a high-profile concern these days, Franzblau chose not to password-protect his InfoChips. ''The problem with it being password-protected is that when someone needs access to it in an emergency and you can't give it to them, then there isn't much they can do with the chip," he explained.
However, Franzblau said that he's working on creating a dual password scheme for the chip. One password would allow access to information needed in an emergency, while the other would be used to make changes in the records on the chip.
''The beauty of this chip is that everything is in your possession," he noted. ''It's not on the Internet or some place where people might be able to crash through it."
Once a patient's medical information is on the chip, it's easy to access, but the information is still only as good as the diligence of the patient inputting the data.
''That's always an argument by a lot of people against this sort of thing," Franzblau admitted. ''But some information is a hell of a lot better than nothing. And the data in a doctor's office is only as good as what they put in."
He observed that 80 to 90 percent of all physicians in the United States don't have any electronic medical record systems. ''They all still use paper," he said.
That's why Franzblau is working on a medical electronic information system built around the InfoChip. ''Doctors will be able to make out a patient's record on their computer, plug a chip in, press one button, and all the data will download," he explained.
''It can become a very important tool for interaction between patients and doctors," he added.
John P. Mello Jr. is a freelance writer. He can be reached at jpmello@cox.net.
