Microsoft Partners With Implantable RFID Chip Maker VeriChip

By Beth Bacheldor, RFID Journal, Inc.

Microsoft plans to make VeriChip's VeriMed Health Link system accessible through Microsoft's HealthVault platform, a secure, online repository that consumers can use for free to manage their health records. The VeriMed Health Link system includes implantable passive RFID tags used for human patient identification and medical records tracking, as well as a hosted database for storing electronic medical records. According to Sean Nolan, the chief architect for HealthVault, VeriChip is the first RFID company to partner with Microsoft on the online platform.

"We created the HealthVault platform to help jump-start innovation around health care," Nolan says. "Our belief was that if we did the hard plumbing work to make it easy for individuals to collect and share their health information, forward-looking companies would seize on the opportunity to provide new solutions to difficult health-care challenges. VeriChip's decision to integrate the VeriMed product with HealthVault is clear evidence that the market is responding."

Unveiled in 2007, HealthVault lets consumers set up their own private health-record repository so they can manage their health and wellness information online. To protect this personal data, the information is encrypted and users can also set up personal privacy controls, including a password, and determine which information is stored in the account, as well as who can access it (see Microsoft Seeks RFID Support for HealthVault).

Used with permission from RFID Journal, Inc.