Three technologies are predicted to change the face of telemedicine, as we know it to be. They are: portable storage devices, Wi-Fi and Tablet or Pocket PC devices. Portable storage devices are the size of an ATM card. They will carry up to 100 MB of data, video or sound. Imagine if carrying a video clip of ultrasounds, or MRI pictures or angiograms on this card and then read it on your PC, Laptop or PDA. Wi-Fi is wireless technology. Tablet or Pocket PC devices are computers, but much more portable than ever before. In marveling at these three innovations, I read an article by Bob Cringely about StorCard, http://www.pbs.org/cringely/. I just had to learn more, so I contacted Greg Goelz, of StorCard Technologies.

Greg, tell me a little about your self and how you became involved with StorCard?

I became involved with StorCard because I thought it was an extraordinary opportunity. I had previously worked for the founder, Finis Conner, at Conner Peripherals. I am a veteran of the storage industry for 18 plus years and always interested in a new twist to serving consumers' needs.

What is StorCard and how did StorCard come out?

StorCard's simple mission is secure portable storage. The founder, Finis Conner, has been an innovator in the storage industry and co-founder of Shugart and Associates and Seagate Technology. His vision was to create a simple storage platform that was familiar to everyone (e.g., credit card), yet provided secure personal storage for a wide range of applications without changes to their existing systems or behaviors. What can you tell me about StorCard and its technology? StorCard is the combination of familiar (credit card), security (Smart Card), personal storage (capacities from 100MB to 5GB) and intelligence. Integrating the most cost-effective media, rotating magnetic media, into a credit card has never been done before. But he added the intelligence of smart chip technology and proprietary architecture to create the most secure and easy to use removable media available. Its high performance architecture supports streaming video and audio better than any other format available today.

When Bob Cringely wrote about StorCard and commented about its implications for business use and data storage, my first and foremost thought was the use in healthcare, which is why I contacted you. Can you tell us more about it?

StorCard is extremely versatile as a platform to enable dramatic change in many markets. It is very well suited to enable change in the healthcare industry by enabling patients to have secure records of their medical history, a vehicle for prescription verification and screening for potential interaction conflicts, and even fraud prevention for medical providers. StorCard is familiar and readily accepted by consumers and fits easily into existing systems and infrastructures.

Tell us how StorCard sees its self in providing solutions to us in the health care area.

The three primary areas we address are:

1. Patient records - image having mobile records for recommended consultations, travel, historical records (especially for progressive diagnosis cases).

2. Compliance with HIPAA 3. Drug interaction verification (without the need for all medical provider systems to be connected).

See http://www.storcard.com/apps/apps_health.html

How does StorCard improve patient care and reduce cost in this era of rising health care expsense?

StorCard provides improved healthcare by providing:

1. Historical records of a patient's total healthcare experience.

2. Submission at pharmacy enable drug interaction and prevents incorrect prescription verification.

3. Convenient form and format for second opinion or specialist referral with complete patient information.

4. By integrating biometrics or other forms of patient identification, reduces fraud and medical expenses abuse With enactment of HIPAA, there is increased concern about protection of patient privacy and secure information.

With enactment of HIPAA, there is increased concern about protection of patient privacy and secure information. How does StorCard deal with these issues?

Yes, StorCard addresses the privacy and personal information requirements of HIPAA, but provides secure personal information in a very familiar and convenient format with the credit card/health card.

What type of data and format does StorCard supply?

StorCard can store any type of data from X-Rays, patient records, angiograms, sonograms, MRIs, etc., for a complete patient history. Any type of information can be stored. The current generation of StorCard will store 100MBs, and future generations will store even more per card. But, multiple StorCards can store and unlimited amount of data for patient records.

What type of beta testing was done with StorCard in health care?

We are still in the development phase of the product and are looking for healthcare partners to participate in beta testing and system deployment stages.

Could we use StorCard information on our PDAs, laptops, or PCs?

StorCard's unique format and PC Card and USB interfaces allows it to easily connect with a wide range of systems around the world. It is easy to connect and exchange data.

If people reading this article want to get in touch with you and talk applications of StorCard, how can they contact you?

We are seeking established partners in the healthcare market to help us realize the potential and to develop additional market applications. Let me know if you have any additional questions or comments. I would be happy to speak live with you. Thanks again for the interest in StorCard and thanks for you patience as we handled our new found fame.