VeriChip Corporation's VeriMed Patient Identification System
Now Has 140 Hospitals and Approximately 300 Physicians as Part of
Its Network
9/6/2006 8:00:00 AM EST
BIOWIRE
VeriChip Corporation: VeriChip Trains Nearly 400 FEMA Employees
on Its VeriTrace Emergency Management/Disaster Recovery
Application
VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions
(NASDAQ:
ADSX), announced today that its Implantable Division,
consisting of the patient ID and personal health information
system called "VeriMed", the security application called
"VeriGuard", and the emergency management system called
"VeriTrace" achieved important milestones. VeriMed, the
first and only FDA-approved microchip for patient identification
and access to medical information has advanced adoption in key
areas of hospital and physician acceptance.
Since early August, 26 new healthcare facilities have agreed to
adopt the VeriMed system. This brings the total to approximately
140 emergency departments, of which 36 - located in seven states
and Washington, D.C. - have fully implemented the technology and
will use the VeriMed reader as standard protocol to scan patients
that present unconscious, delirious or confused. The Company
continues to provide readers to hospitals at no charge as part of
its efforts to "seed" the infrastructure for the VeriMed
patient identification system.
The expansion of the VeriMed physician network has increased
nearly six-fold in 2006, indicating increasing acceptance of
VeriMed by primary care and specialty physicians.
"We are optimistic that we will see a significant increase
in the number of physicians in our physician network as we enhance
our efforts to educate physicians about the benefits of VeriMed
through participation in several large medical conferences
scheduled over the next few months," stated Kevin McLaughlin,
CEO of VeriChip Corporation. "We are further encouraged that
our clinical study program with Blue Cross Blue Shield of New
Jersey, which commences in September, will lead to increased
adoption by physicians and health insurers."
VeriChip's VeriTrace application is designed to assist state
and federal agencies to plan for and manage emergency situations
and disaster recovery using implantable RFID technology. VeriChip
has now trained nearly 400 FEMA employees on this technology
including the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT)
involved in the recovery efforts during the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina and responsible for Weapons of Mass Destruction recovery
efforts. VeriChip continues to work with federal and state
agencies on full implementation of this technology.
About VeriChip Corporation
VeriChip Corporation, headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida,
develops, markets and sells radio frequency identification, or
RFID, systems used to identify, locate and protect people and
assets. VeriChip's goal is to become the leading provider of RFID
systems for people in the healthcare industry. VeriChip sells
passive RFID systems for identification purposes and active RFID
systems for local-area location and identification purposes.
VeriChip recently began to market its VeriMed(TM) Patient
Identification System which is used to rapidly and accurately
identify people who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to
communicate. This system uses the first human-implantable passive
RFID microchip, the implantable VeriChip(TM), cleared for medical
use in October 2004 by the United States Food and Drug
Administration. For more information on VeriChip, please call
1-800-970-2447, or email info@verichipcorp.com. Additional
information can be found online at www.verichipcorp.com.
About Applied Digital - "The Power of Identification
Technology"
Applied Digital develops innovative identification and security
products for consumer, commercial, and government sectors
worldwide. The Company's unique and often proprietary products
provide identification and security systems for people, animals,
the food supply, government/military arena, and commercial assets.
Included in this diversified product line are RFID applications,
end-to-end food safety systems, GPS/Satellite communications, and
telecomm and security infrastructure, positioning Applied Digital
as the leader in identification technology. Applied Digital is the
owner of a majority position in Digital Angel Corporation (AMEX:DOC
- News).
Statements about the Company's future expectations, including
future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this
press release other than historical facts are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in
the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to
change at any time, and the Company's actual results could differ
materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequently occurring events or circumstances.
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