I ran across this $30 purpose-built USB memory stick in one of my motorcycle groups: www.traveler-er.com

It's a smallish (64 MB) USB drive with some software to enter your medical data and enables you to encrypt the data. It also has an printable output that seeks to present medical personnel with your information in a familiar accessible format.

They say:
Traveler-ER allows you to securely store:
•Personal Information
•Medical History
•Emergency Contact Information
•Contact Information for your primary care physician and other doctors
•Health Insurance Information
•Family Medical History
•Information about your Travel History"

Another interesting aspect is that they include a wallet card that points medical personnel to your USB device.

Currently I don't carry this type of data for me and mine. I have some text files in no particular format on my laptop which I don't even replicate on my Blackberry. I clearly need to develop a strategy.

This forum has so many knowledgeable experts and experienced first responders that I thought I would ask:
What is your current strategy for carrying your (and family's) medical history?
Is an electronic approach viable?
What do you think of this device or one like it?
Is there an open-source and freely available solution for carrying electronic medical history data out there?

Overall, I like the approach they've taken but would be interested in an open-source format that I could migrate onto other perhaps more hardened USB drives and into other formats as memory standards evolve. The reservation I would have is does the solution present information to medical personnel in an accessible way considering you might be unable to communicate.

Thanks in advance for your comments here on Ritter University!

- Andy