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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Garet Hayes
Hope-Beckham Inc. for MedsFile.com
P: 404-604-2602
ghayes@hopebeckham.com
MedsFile.com Offers Ease of Tracking Medications
for Millions of Americans
ATLANTA (April 21, 2008) – Mark Holland, president and founder of MedsFile.com, LLC, a private, secure Web-based service that allows consumers to store important medication information for easy access, urges patients and consumers to take an active role in managing their healthcare.
“Having important medication information available during emergency and routine medical visits, including up-to-date medication and allergy lists, assists medical personal with accurate and timely medical care,” said Holland. “After watching my mother try to help my grandfather track more than 50 medications, I wanted to create an easy and accessible way to keep track of them all.”
There is a growing need for a medications’ information solution in the United States; nearly one-third of the U.S. population, an estimated 78 million, are baby boomers, including many who are taking care of aging relatives. Additionally, those living with a chronic disease and divorced parents who may not have primary care of their children would benefit from the service.
“Research has shown that the more medications a person takes, the greater the risk of experiencing a medication-related problem,” said Holland. “Most people cannot list every medication they take, how often they should take it, how many milligrams it is and the generic name for it. Even more challenging is trying to keep track of multiple prescriptions easily and accurately, and getting this information to multiple physicians.”
MedsFile.com assigns each subscriber a wallet card with a unique ID and pin number. With this information, a designated party can view the user’s medication information anytime, anywhere. Customers can also print off their own file to give it to anyone else who needs their up-to-date medication information. MedsFile.com uses state-of-the-art Web applications and security, as well as a unique two-level security system that keeps users’ personal information private and secure. Customer ID cards, online access and printed medication pages only allow access to information that the user enters into the database. A separate login process is used by the account holder to view or change personal billing information.
Accurate medication information that is readily available in an emergency can help reduce drug errors which are responsible for killing more than 7,000 hospitalized patients a year. A 2006 report by the Institute of Medicine, which is based on national data, concludes that a hospital patient is subject to one medication error per day, on average.
The number of drugs prescribed or ordered for patients is rising and totaled 1.3 billion in 2001, reflecting both the need to prescribe multiple drugs for those with multiple conditions as well as the availability of many new and popular types of medication.
“While anyone with a user’s login and PIN can view a patient’s medical information, changing this information or viewing billing information requires a unique second-level of security, which does not appear anywhere on the wallet card or on the Web site,” said Holland. “This is a personal question such as the last four digits of a user’s social security number, or mother’s maiden name. Furthermore, to ensure a user’s privacy, the patients’ names do not appear on their card or on the Web site.”
Consumers can join the service at a flat rate of $3.99 per month, less than the cost of a fast-food meal, or can subscribe to an annual subscription for $35.88 per year, for a total cost savings of $12.
About MedsFile.com
MedsFile.com, LLC allows consumers to store all of their important medication information, including allergies, physicians and emergency contacts, in a private, secure online database. Founded in August 2004 by Mark Holland, this innovative Web-based tool can be accessed anytime, anywhere, by a designated party, including doctors, nurses, caregivers, emergency medical personnel and family members. For more information, visit www.medsfile.com or call 800.541.9345.
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