Local News - updated 9:04 PM ET Sep 15
San Diego Daily Transcript
Friday September 15 09:04 PM EDT
Medical Alert Information Just The Beginning For Wallet-Sized 'Smart Cards'
People with pre-existing medical conditions soon may not have to rely solely on decidedly low-tech identification bracelets to alert paramedics of their health status.
A Del Mar-based company has joined with the MedicAlert Foundation to offer Internet-savvy "smart cards" to all its members and "smart card readers" to all major emergency service companies.
Locally headquartered Humetrix.com is set to deploy its so-called Netissimo technology next month. MedicAlert, with 2.7 million U.S. members and 4 million members worldwide, is the company's first client.
Humetrix.com's founder and CEO, Bettina Experton, gave a demonstration of the new technology entitled "Humetrix: How a San Diego Startup Became a Lightning Rod for e-Business" at the San Diego Internet Roundtable luncheon at the Hyatt Aventine in La Jolla on Thursday.
The smart cards are credit card-size plastic programmed with the medical information, Experton said. The smart card readers, which are pager-sized devices, have a slot where the smart cards can be inserted. A small digital screen on the reader will offer paramedics a quick look at the cardholder's medical history.
The cards can also be inserted into a computer with a corded smart card reader attachment, for home and hospital use, she said.
The MedicAlert deal represents a major coup for Humetrix.com, said Experton, whose own background includes 17 years of health industry management and consulting. While the MedicAlert smart cards have the potential to enhance provider efficiency and reduce administrative costs, Experton said, it also lends exposure to Humetrix.com for Netissimo's other uses: banking and financial services, wireless telecommunications, travel, entertainment and Internet retailing.
Humetrix.com officials hope the smart cards will eventually be implemented for use with a variety of portable devices, from cell phones to PDAs. The patented Netissimo cards can be programmed to automatically dial up the Internet, log on, open password-protected pages and Web sites, or other protected bookmarks.
The 1999-founded company is marketing its cards as a way for its clients to attract and retain customers by bringing them directly to specific Web sites.
Humetrix.com is just one of many companies riding the recent smart card technology wave; in recent weeks companies such asFleet Credit Card, Visa U.S.A. and Providian Financial have announced enhanced smart card roll-outs. The Smart Card Forum, a multi-industry organization working to accelerate the application of the technology, will hold its annual meeting Sept. 27 and 28 in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Internet Roundtable, hosted by the San Diego law office of Gray Cary, is a monthly luncheon meeting of top-level Internet executives, analysts and consultants. Next month's meeting will include a presentation by San Diego-based CollegeClub.com, which filed for bankruptcy last month. Boston-based Student Advantage has said it will acquire the college student-aimed Web site in a cash and stock deal potentially worth $18.5 million. |
