DALLAS -- SanDisk(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK) today announced that MedKey Corp. of San Diego, CA, will use SanDisk's SD(TM)/USB combo flash card for its new MedChip(R) line of products for storing and accessing patient medical information. The announcement was made at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, where SanDisk is demonstrating products at Booth #6205.
The wearable MedChip(R) EHR (Electronic Health Record), which consists of the card and MedKey's EHR application, enables patients to carry their medical records and present them to medical clinics, hospitals and other health care providers. The MedChip is the size of a standard SD card and can be worn on a wristband, necklace or key chain. It will be sold both to health care providers and directly to consumers.
The MedChip EHR can be read by any USB-enabled computer as well as via the SD interface found on many PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and smartphones. Consumers will be able to securely update their health history by accessing the drive via their personal computer's USB port. In a hospital or clinic, authorized health personnel will be able to quickly access patient data by plugging the MedChip directly into the SD Card slot on their PDAs or into any notebook or desktop with a USB port.
A key feature of the software is MedKey's patent-pending Digital Rights Management (DRM) architecture, designed to provide security of patient information. Another application on the MedChip allows secure transmission to a Patient Data Repository, MedBase.com, for patient record storage and medical analysis by approved medical personnel.
MedKey is also introducing MedChip(R) Rx, which consists of the SD/USB card and pharmaceutical clinical trial and drug interaction software. Designed for use by pharmaceutical companies in clinical trials and drug-interaction studies, MedChip(R) Rx can also be used by consumers and pharmacies to securely store a patient's prescription medicine information.
"The convenience and small form-factor of the MedChip, along with the security our Digital Rights Management architecture provides, will revolutionize the portable storage of health and prescription drug records," said Jonathan Tate, president and CEO of MedKey. "Consumers and patients will finally have a secure encrypted medical storage device small enough to carry at all times, and can be read by most PDAs and smartphones."
"We are very excited that MedKey has chosen SanDisk for their MedChip product line, as they provide innovative solutions for the health care market," said Ed Cuellar, director of marketing in SanDisk's emerging markets business unit. "The MedChip shows how flash cards can help patients take ownership of their health. We are thrilled that MedKey has chosen SanDisk as its supplier for a product that will benefit consumers by improving quality of care."
The MedChip will be available through selected distributor channels and major clinical hospitals and pharmaceutical companies in the first half of 2005.
Pricing for the MedChip will be $69.95 for the 64-megabyte single user version. The 128-megabyte family user version will be $79.95. Volume pricing is also available.
MedKey Corporation is located in San Diego, CA. MedKey is the developer of custom personal medical records software, which allows hospitals, insurance payers, employers and pharmaceutical organizations to reduce costs, improve patient safety and provide secure patient-to-health-care exchange of information. The company's web site is www.medkey.com.
SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.
SanDisk's product images can be downloaded from http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com.
SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. SanDisk is an authorized licensee of the SD trademark. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
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