By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
Photo courtesy of MyRapidMD |
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — A person's medical history can be critical at an incident scene — but having immediate access to it can prove difficult for first responders.
Now a new medical alert service is aiming to make people's cell phones something they really can't live without. The cell phone software application, created by Calif.-based MyRapidMD, turns a person's mobile phone into an emergency information repository.
Developed in conjunction with firefighters, paramedics and ER nurses, the Emergency Service Profile application (ESP) provides a complete personal emergency medical alert and information package.
"This is something that can really assist first responders in their job and allows them to access the information they may need quickly," said Mark White, president and founder of MyRapidMD.
The application allows cell phone owners to download their basic emergency medical history & contact information — such as blood type, allergies and recent operations — based on standard victim assessment protocols. It also allows them to display their photo, so first responders can verify the owner of the phone — and medical details — at an emergency scene.
| Special Offer |
First responders and the military get ESP for free by signing up at Firstresponders.myrapidmd.com and entering the promo code "FRESP2008" at the payment page. Family members receive a 50 percent discount for life. To encourage first responders to share details of the service in their communities, a partnership has been launched with the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation. If members of the public use the promo code "FFCF" at the payment page until the end of this year, 50 percent of the initial fee will be donated to the foundation. As of January 1, the foundation will receive 10 percent of the first year and subsequent annual renewal fees. |
The service is $19.95 for the first year and $5.95 every year after that. After entering their medical profile on MyRapidMD's web site, subscribers to the service then receive a text message with a link to download ESP.
Once installed, ESP can be accessed as long as the phone has power; no service connection is required and no third party involvement is needed to get a person's emergency information.
During the development stage of the service, an advisory panel, which included firefighters and paramedics, was set up to ensure it was geared to the information needs of first responders at incident scenes, White said.
"They took the simple protocol for a person's profile and added extra fields which they knew would help them do their job at the emergency scene, such as listing the person's home hospital," White said.
District Fire Rescue Chief Richard Cole, of the Houston Fire Department, and chairman of the advisory panel, said the technology was simple but extremely effective.
"It allows us to be more pro-active in assessing & identifying the victim at the emergency or triage scene and gives us an invaluable tool to do our job better. And if we don't have time at the emergency scene we can pass the cell phone on to the ER staff waiting to attend to the victim," he said.
Subscription to the service includes stickers for the back of the cell phone, wallet and key chain ID cards, car decal and fridge magnets to identify that the person has the service, while bracelets are an optional extra. The information is backed up by a 24/7 automated call center in case the cell phone is broken or locked. White said the application contains no social security, financial or home address information, limiting any privacy concerns.
