Medical Profile Card Inc.

Objective of the Medical Profile Card:

First - Provide physician with a tangible "hold in the hand" PERK that can be presented to a patient at the end of an office visit with the intent of strengthening Doctor/Patient relationship - good will.

Second - Save lives by addressing the very important need to make available critical medical data that First Responders and ER personnel need in an emergency situation.

Competing Solutions:

Smart phone apps - First Responders and ER personnel have stated that they believe it would be practically impossible to access smart phone apps considering the large number of new  phones continually being introduced. They doubt they could even turn on some of the new phones and then find the passwords and pin numbers. They also question, if they could get the phone turned on, could they find the app and figure out how to navigate to find specific medical information. Bottom line is they do not consider this a viable alternative.

So smart phone apps fail to satisfy either objective:  strengthen Doctor/Patient relationship or provide First Responders with information they need.

Thumb drives/memory sticks - there are numerous apps that enable a patient to document their medical history on a thumb drive or memory stick. The idea is that patient would enter the data from whatever source they wished and then would have the device available in case of an emergency.

There are two problems with this concept. First the transcription of medical data by a non medical individual is prone to error and second is that First Responders have stated emphatically that they would never plug a strange thumb drive into their computers for fear of viruses or other risks. 

Other issue is the need for the patient to conscientiously keep device updated and accurate.

So thumb drives can not even be considered a serious contender to compete with the objectives of the Medical Profile Card.