Doctors and other medical professional know that a personal medical history is important to provide the most suitable treatment and health care for a patient. However, in times of emergency, the patients are often unable to communicate this information.

That’s where MediKord comes in. The product, which is essentially, a programs stored in a “specially” designed USB flash drive, allows users to easily record their personal medical history, including current medications, allergies and other details, would be useful to medical professionals, paramedics and even the police, in the event of an emergency.

MediKord has been developed in Australia to overcome the serious limitations of not having a centralised national health data base. The MediKord is a discreet, convenient and portable method of enabling ready access to the user’s medical history on a Windows-based PC.

“No central data base holding medical records exists in Australia, nor many other countries, which I think is ridiculous given that should someone be rushed to hospital and is unconscious or can't recall details of the medication and medical staff have no way of immediately knowing his/her medical history, treatment could well be compromised,” said John Wildy of MediKords Australia in an e-mail.

“[I] think that a personal digitised record will be highly beneficial and could well save lives.”

MediKord has a decided advantage over medical alert bracelets and alert jewellery in that it has room for a user’s detailed medical record and emergency contacts, rather than just one word or phone number.

“I reasoned that there is a market after speaking with a number of health professionals many of which expressed surprise and interest however, this market testing is not absolute and I anticipate a lot of leg work still needs to be done in the form of creating product awareness,” said Wildly, who is 76 years of age teamed up with his son, a programmer, to develop the device.

MediKord details a patient’s medical history, medications, contact details for doctors and specialists, as well as emergency contacts. The lightweight and carefully thought out eye-catching USB memory device is clearly printed on both sides in circular form. The MediKord is discreet and takes up very little space in a wallet or purse. Alternatively, it can be worn on a lanyard, or pinned to the inside of a coat pocket.

The simplicity of MediKord also affords users privacy protection since the device stands along unlike other centralised medical record devices. The company does not impose any ongoing fees nor does it requires users to connect to the internet to update the record on third party servers. The user is also in full control of the quantity and quality of the information recorded.