MediStick - carrying your medical history in your pocket

Yet another use for the ubiquitous USB flash drive is the Swiss MediStick which is claimed to be the world's first personal multilingual medical record device. The basic idea behind the MediStick is to carry your current medical history around with you so doctors can treat you quickly if you're in an accident or have a medical emergency. The software solution in memory stick format contains your blood group, allergies, current medication and any current health conditions) and administrative data such as your name, date of birth, next of kin contact information and family doctor contact numbers as well as health care insurance details. The software also contains a password protected area for storing your more sensitive data. It makes sense that we should seek to develop a standard for this type of device, though we suspect that the MediStick would not help much in most countries as the doctors could not legally trust the device. The ability to carry the records of up to five people on the Medistick would at first glance appear to muddle the issues rather than make a more appealing product.