If it were my computer in the hospital, I sure wouldn't allow just anybody to walk in off the street and plug an auto-play device into it. Talk about setting yourself up for a potential security nightmare. Both for the hospital computer freely accepting any old auto-play, and for the patient trusting the hospital computer to be free from spyware/keyloggers. But this Zaptag device only supports Windows so I'm out anyway - I run Linux.

The general utility of this device seems in question too. The non-encrypted stuff - your contact info, etc. - would be better handled with a laminated card in your wallet (I have one of those now). And the encrypted stuff... (1) If you're well enough to walk over and enter your passphrase into the reading computer, you're probably well enough to just tell them the info. (2) If you are too mentally impaired to remember your medical info, you're probably too impaired to figure out how to populate a USB thumbdrive in the first place.

I have a USB thumbdrive, encrypted, with all kinds of stuff on it. Much more than just medical. SSNs, scans of passports, drivers licenses, family photos, auto VINs, insurance policies, credit card info, bank accounts, tax returns, recent water and utility bills, and more ... an identity theft goldmine. I keep this because of the nightmares I read about for Katrina victims trying to reestablish their identities. I sure wouldn't plug this thing into any old computer, even though everything is encrypted. I would always assume keyloggers and spyware were present on the host computer/OS. I'd power down the host computer first, then boot from this thumbdrive. It contains a complete Linux installation that runs from the thumbdrive (and it's "only" a 256Mb thumbdrive!) Since booting from thumbdrives is still black magic, especially on older computers, I have a bootable CD with the same info in my safe deposit box. I really need to send copies of that CD to family members in other states, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.