Keep Your Medical Details On A Flash Drive?

December 11, 2008 By Digital Trends Staff

Keep Your Medical Details On A Flash Drive?

A former soldier has come up with the idea of people keeping their medical details on a USB memory stick that can be worn or carried.

The MedAlert bracelet is a great idea, but can only carry so much information. But a former British SAS soldier has turned an idea that he used in Afghanistan into a business.

Back then, he had details like his allergies stored on a memory stick that he sewed into his clothes, in case of injury. Now he’s selling the U Tag, a memory stick that looks like a dog tag, and which can be worn or attached like a fob to a keychain. The aluminum case sports the medical snake entwined on a staff and the word ICE (In Case of Emergency).

According to the Guardian, the memory stick is password-protected, will work on all National Health systems, and all versions of Windows from ME onward. Only the holder of the U Tag can enter or edit details (which are brief – simply name, two contacts, general practitioner, insurance policy number and details of medical conditions and what medications are being taken). Simply clicking on a flag offers translations into the six main European languages, and holders can store scanned copies of a passport, driver’s license and travel insurance in a hidden folder only owners can access.

The U Tag costs $30 for the slimline and $35 for the slightly bulkier version.

Showing 6 comments

Jonjoe Lewis at 2:02pm 13th January 2009 The Utag Digital Dog Tag and Utag ICE Card are used by the UK Police Force, Military, and many more. 60,000 has been despatched, this is not a money making idea it is a LIFE SAVING IDEA!

Mobile phones run out of battery..........

VISIT www.digitaldogtag.co.uk
Jodi Levine at 9:55am 6th January 2009 These concepts are all headed in the right direction, but www.emergentag.com is the easiest, most affordable solution for individuals at risk. For $29.99 you can get an EMERGENTag and protect yourself without entering your private, personal data on the web or paying a subscription fee. Check it out.
Catherine Bassett at 6:05am 19th December 2008
Joe Fusco at 2:55pm 15th December 2008 @Danny - Nice idea but your site makes me nervous. First, the area where I put in all of my PERSONAL and MEDICAL information is NOT secured. Second, I tried to send feedback and all I got were errors. Then, I went to the forums and there were NO discussions... not even so much as a welcome message from an admin.
Sorry, I think I'll stick with a USB drive for now. At least I know that is under MY control.

@Brittany - Sorry, I don't want to pay a periodic subscription and the one-time deal is twice the price of this solution.
Danny Kraineq at 1:35pm 12th December 2008 Thank you for sharing this information. It is good to know about various options. They both seem to be good solutions to help you retain your personal health information but may not be as useful for emergencies. In an emergency, every second counts and depending on the place of emergency, you never know if they have time and in come cases, equipment to look at data on a USB stick right away.

I use ICE solution from http://ICEcare.net. I find it very practical and as intuitive... all data is on my mobile phone. Easy to access, it is always with me and easy to connect with my family, should their be a need for that as well.
Brittany Abbate at 3:02pm 11th December 2008 Love this concept, but I think we do it better. www.mymedicalmemory.org
1 - we were designed by doctors, the ones who know what they need to see in the event of an emergency. that's why in our system, the first things you'll see are an EKG (if you have one), your allergies, your current medications, and your surgical history...this data is LIFE-SAVING, and most laymen don't know what's most important.
2) we help you obtain your medical records and other relevant information through paperwork and phone support
3) we maintain your records on a secure server so even if you lose your flash drive, we can get you a backup right away
4) we also offer an "infodisc" option, which is a wallet-card-sized CD...it's small enough to fit in a standard wallet card slot, but can hold all of your medical records
Of course I think My Medical Memory holds some significant advantages over the competition; I work for the company. But the goal is to save lives by making sure health care professionals have all the essential information they need to give the best care possible. So however you choose to track and store your medical records and information, DO make that choice...it could save your life!