MedicAlert® to showcase technology at the White House Conference on Aging

TURLOCK, California (December 12, 2005) – As part of its continued commitment as the market leader in healthcare informatics, MedicAlert Foundation, today will showcase its technology products at the 2005 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), (Booth # 16) at the Marriott Wardman Park, Washington D.C. The theme for the 2005 WHCoA is titled, “The Booming Dynamics of Aging: From Awareness to Action.”

MedicAlert is in a select group of some of the leading technology displays from a variety of companies and universities exhibiting in the Center for Aging Services Technologies’ (CAST) Imagine Pavilion.  CAST focuses on the application of technology and the issues that impact how technology will be used successfully to provide aging services.

MedicAlert will be showcasing technology products - the MedicAlert® E-HealthKEY, the Health Enhancement System (HES), and the RFID Emergency Card in response to the federal government’s goal to give all Americans electronic medical records in the coming years. Within a few years, one-third of all Americans will be elderly – about 77 million people – the single biggest demographic group in the country. Globally, the U.S. will have the largest population of elderly people in the history of the world.

“Electronic medical records are one part of a much larger vision of how technology can transform healthcare,” said Paul Kortschak, president and CEO of MedicAlert. “The investment in electronic records will pay off only if it is integrated with the development of the Personal Health Record (PHR), owned by the consumer.  MedicAlert enables consumers to manage their Personal Health Record while maintaining security, privacy and confidentiality. The MedicAlert E-HealthKEY, the HES, and RFID Cards are designed to provide a sense of security for the consumer and their families. These products will enable them to take a proactive approach for their health care.”

The MedicAlert® E-HealthKEY is a secure and portable personal health record device using USB-flash disc technology enabling patients to keep their complete personal electronic health record, including medical images, on their key chain. Emergency information is available when the E-HealthKEY is plugged into any USB-enabled computer or by contacting the MedicAlert 24-hour Emergency Response Center, accessible from anywhere in the world. Updates to the personal health record can be provided by both the patient and those authorized by the patient such as a physician or a caregiver.

The MedicAlert Health Enhancement System (HES) includes a compact monitor designed to allow individuals regardless of age or health to have their health status monitored daily. The HES collects the individuals’ vital signs on a daily basis and transmits them for review by specially trained MedicAlert® personnel. Using voice and text prompts the HES guides patients through a simple three-minute procedure to collect information such as weight, blood pressure and answers to disease specific questions. This patient data is downloaded daily to patient’s MedicAlert® Electronic Health Record, thus in an emergency, MedicAlert can provide the most up-to-date information in an emergency situation

The MedicAlert Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has the potential to improve patient care and safety by simplifying access to this critical care information.  RFID enables authorized personnel, whether in an ambulance or hospital emergency room, to easily have access to a patient’s medical information.  At the same time, RFID technology protects the privacy and security of this information, so that only the information necessary for emergency care is made available and only to those sanctioned officials. 

The CAST Pavilion is the first time so many advanced technologies for aging care have been assembled in one place, so that people can literally see and touch the future. The focus of the exhibitions is to get technology out of the lab and into the living room, out of research and development and into the marketplace. There are thousands of inventions and patents in labs and private companies that could be applied to meet the changing needs of the mass market of aging Boomers.

About MedicAlert
MedicAlert Foundation is a non-profit healthcare informatics organization dedicated to providing services to our members that protect and save lives. MedicAlert® services are built around a repository of health information that enables members to manage their personal health records while maintaining security, privacy and confidentiality. As the trusted third party custodian of comprehensive personal health information, the MedicAlert® repository can connect to and provide critical medical information between patients, providers, payers, and first responders 24 hours a day anywhere in the world. The premium we place on patient confidentiality has earned the trust of 4 million members and the healthcare community worldwide.

MedicAlert® is committed to providing technology-based solutions and is an active member and a leader in developing interoperability standards with all the major Healthcare IT standards organizations. The MedicAlert® repository uses Web service interfaces to support standard Electronic Health Records (EHRs), including electronic drug prescriptions and for patient record interoperability. These activities will ensure the rapid development and deployment of standards to improve the quality of care, lower healthcare costs while increasing patient safety.

MedicAlert® is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1956 with a mission to protect and save lives, is headquartered in the United States and has international affiliates in nine countries. Additional information about MedicAlert® is available at www.medicalert.org.

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Contact: Ramesh Srinivasan
Vice President Marketing
(209) 480-2300 Mobile
rsrinivasan@medicalert.org