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A range of new medical devices which provide paramedics with instant access to a patient’s medical history has launched.
UPDATE (June 24th, 10.50am):
Tap2Tag is looking to establish partnerships with retailers and distributors to sell its medical devices. It has also revealed pricing details.
"At the moment we sell, almost exclusively, our products through our website at www.tap2tag.me but would love retail businesses, distributors and charities to get in touch to offer our products for retail sale," MD Chris Ford told PCR.
"We are also talking to a few NHS departments about the product but, if you consider that the corporate wheels turn slowly, then the NHS sometimes feels like the bus is at a standstill. However we have been very lucky finding customers who have championed the product since its launch and some of these work within the NHS. They have been driving the product forward through their own departments."
Ford also revealed pricing details: Wristbands (currently come in eight different colours and three different sizes) cost £12 plus P&P, key fobs (in four different colours) cost £8 plus P&P, plus medical cards (currently branded with the Tap2Tag logo) are priced at £8 plus P&P.
Original story (June 23rd, 10.43am):
The Tap2Tag Medical devices come in the form of wristbands, key fobs, credit card-sized cards and stickers. Each unit is embedded with NFC (near-field communication) technology designed for use with smartphones.
Tap2Tag’s founder, Bristol entrepreneur Chris Ford, said: "In an emergency, for example when someone collapses, after calling the emergency services any passer-by with an NFC-enabled mobile phone can simply tap the patient’s device to gain access to vital and potentially life-saving medical information."
That information, which the patient chooses to make publically available via an online Tap2Tag system, could include their name, allergies, known medical conditions, medications they require, date of birth, blood group, photo, organ donation status and any other special messages.
Additionally, when the device is tapped and activated by NFC, and the situation is verified as being an emergency, it can send a text or email to family members or carers to alert them.
Ford says that no data is stored on the device itself, but that each tag is allocated with a unique code, against which information is stored on a secure online database.
Chris Skidmore, Conservative MP for Kingswood, Bristol, a former member of the Government’s Health Select Committee, said: "This is a really exciting new development that has potential to transform the lives of people with health conditions, disabilities, communication difficulties and the frail elderly."
Nick Evans, South Western Ambulance Service’s operational manager, added: "This is a tremendous piece of kit that could enable us to get patient information really quickly. We can see huge potential for it within emergency healthcare."
Visit www.tap2tag.me for more info.
