Medical identification tag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A medical identification tag is a small tag worn on a bracelet, neck chain, or on the clothing bearing a message that the wearer has an important medical condition that might require immediate attention. The intention is to alert a physician, emergency department personnel or police of the condition even if the wearer is not conscious enough or old enough to explain. Some people prefer to carry a wallet card with the same information.

The best known producer of these tags is the MedicAlert Corporation. ^[1]

A new type of medic identification alert is the USB tag. This is essentially a USB flash drive that contains an individuals emergency information. Because of the memory on the flash drive these USB medical alert tags are capable of carrying much more information than the conventional medical ID bracelet. Information such as medications, existing conditions, doctors and emergency contacts can all be stored on the USB tags. Emergency personnel can instantly access the information with any available computer. The leading distributor for this type of medical alert unit is MedicTag ^[2]

[edit] Conditions for use

Typical conditions warranting such a tag are:

type 1 diabetes mellitus
severe allergy, especially to insect sting or penicillin
adrenal insufficiency
pacemaker or other implantable medical devices

In addition to mention of a condition, the tag may have a telephone number that medical personnel can call for more information, such as specific medications and phone number of physician.

Such a tag may also be useful as proof of such a condition to law enforcement personnel.

[edit] Types

There are three types of medical ID jewelry. The most common form of medical ID jewelry provides a logo or inscription indicating a particular well known medical condition.

Another type of medical ID jewelry indicates membership in a medical information organization such as the MedicAlert Foundation, MedicAlert.org. Such medical ID jewelry includes a member identification number and a toll-free number for medical emergency personnel to contact the organization and obtain full information about the wearer's medical conditions, treatment, and history.

A third type of medical jewelry is a pendant or wrist strap containing a wireless alert button, also known as a panic button, worn in the home as part of a wireless medical alert system. This type of medical jewelry sends a signal to a dialing console which contacts a medical alarm monitoring service when an emergency occurs.