Perhaps someday implantable chips will be so pervasive that a quick body scan will provide instantaneous medical information. Do we really want it?

Until that day, which may never come, there are two companies that have caught our eye. MyRapid MD allows the user to download detailed medical information into a cell phone whereas Safe Guard Medi-Systems uses a more conventional approach utilizing dog tags and intelligent cards containing medical information.

The upside is the availability of mobile electronic medical records. The downside is the potential for invasion of privacy, one of the main reasons why EMRs are still not widely accepted even in the medical community.

But, who would have thought that cell phones and dogs tags may help to create A Healthier World!