New device to help access patient's medical history

Dubai: A private clinic has launched a patient ID device that they can carry around with them and through which paramedics and doctors can access their medical history in emergencies.

The device called careid looks like a USB flash drive and has a user-friendly programme that allows patients to enter details on serious medical conditions and allergies.

Dr B.N. Rajkumar, Director, uniCare, said as the population is diverse and many of them take medications from various parts of the world whose brand names they do not remember, this device will help emergency doctors know the background of the patient.

He said the protocol in accidents is to first search for an ID and this colourful device would easily catch the eye of the paramedic. The device is hugely promoted in North America and it is the first in the UAE.

"After investigating existing methods and noticing that most medical bracelets or tags carried minimal information, the team at uniCare decided to turn to technology to develop a simple, user-friendly method to ensure a patient's medical information is always readily available," said Dr Rajkumar.

"This will empower Dubai's residents to exercise more control over their health," he said. The patient can key in details of insurance provider, store details of past medical history, medicines he is currently taking or has taken in the past, dates and results of recent medical tests.

For people with diabetes and high blood pressure, the device comes with a programme to maintain a log of their glucose and blood pressure readings.

"With careid any emergency service, ambulance, police or rescue squad with a laptop computer can have instant access to pre-existing conditions, medications and dosages, thereby avoiding dangerous duplication of medications and other errors associated with incomplete information," he added.