Originally Posted By: Eugene
Originally Posted By: ILBob


It seems to me I read about some kind of medical record service where they store your records in some kind of useful electronic form and give you a dog tag to wear so a medical provider can access those records. Don't know much about it, but it would seem like a useful thing. Far more useful and secure than paper records would be.


I've read about those services, they have been talked about on these forums too. You have several issues, most of those services use their own special software which means if the company goes out of business or gets bought by another or changes the file structure in a new version then you may not be able to retrieve those records anymore.
Then there is the issue of the Dr/EMT isn't going to just stick a usb drive in their computer, too easy to get a virus.

I was surprised that when registering our kids for school,they took our copy as word, they didn't ask how or who to verify with.

I suspect school districts practices on verification varies widely. I know some districts in the Chicago suburbs have been known to send a social worker around to check and see if your kid actually lives where you claim he lives because they don't want to be educating kids who do not live in their district. The district next door might do no checking at all.

I believe the dog tag they give you is only a way to identify you to the system. I don't think it holds the actual information on you. It just alerts the hospital that the data is available to be accessed, via the Internet no doubt. I don't know the actual mechanism, and it did not interest me enough to look real close. I don't believe it is something an EMT would be able to access.

I don't know about the file format issue. What I had read one place was it is a standard format that is in use because the federal government mandated it.
_________________________
Warning - I am not an expert on anything having to do with this forum, but that won't stop me from saying what I think. smile

Bob