|
Rural and Frontier EMS Agenda for the
Future
The Rural and Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future was recently rolled
out at the National Association of State EMS Directors annual
meeting. Kevin McGinnis served as principal investigator.
This agenda uses the 1996 EMS Agenda for the Future as a foundation.
The executive summary states that “rural/frontier EMS providers are
acutely aware of the challenges that they face. This document is
intended to arm them with information about future directions in
which their services and systems might best head to assure their
survival, advancement and growth.”
The Agenda for the Future is available online at
http://www.nrharural.org/EMSagenda. Ancillary materials are
planned that will help roll the agenda out at state and local
levels.
Homeland Security Department Focuses on
Interoperability
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge recently announced the
launch of the Office of Interoperability and Compatibility. This
office will “oversee the wide range of public safety
interoperability programs and efforts currently spread across
Homeland Security.” According to the Homeland Security web site,
these programs address critical issues relating to interoperability
in public safety and emergency response.
“This office will ensure that Homeland Security is exercising its
leadership role to bring local, state, and federal efforts together
in a partnership that is essential to national progress on
interoperability,” said Secretary Ridge. “This is a national effort,
not a federal effort, and I thank the first responder community for
their initiative and collaboration.”
Ridge also announced the availability of two interoperability
improvement tools, an Interoperability Continuum Guide and a
methodology for statewide communications interoperability planning.
These resources have been distributed to leaders in all states and
50 high-risk urban areas. For more information on the Office of
Interoperability and Compatibility, read the fact sheet at
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0529.xml.
FDA Approves Implantable Data Chip
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the
human use of an implantable computer chip that will provide health
care professionals with quick access to vital patient information.
The chip, which is about the size of a grain of rice, is known as
VeriChip. When electronically scanned, the chip can give health care
professionals information about allergies, medications, blood type,
and medical history.
This radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is currently
being used on humans in Mexico but has only been used to identify
pets in the US. The VeriChip will be inserted in the upper arm in a
quick outpatient procedure similar to a normal injection and will
not be visible to the human eye.
Each VeriChip contains a unique 16-digit number that will be
identified when scanned. The number will be entered on a web site,
which will reveal the patient’s history and other pertinent
information. Applied Digital, the maker of the chip, has agreed to
donate 650 scanners at 200 of the nation’s trauma centers. It is
expected that microchip implantation will cost less than $200.
For more information, visit the FDA website at
http://www.fda.gov or the Applied
Digital site at
http://www.adsx.com/prodservpart/verichip.html.
BACK
TO CONTENTS PAGE
|
