ELRAY BEACH, Fla., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeriChip Corporation
, a provider of RFID systems for healthcare and
patient-related needs, announced today that 65 new hospitals
have agreed to participate in the VeriMed Patient
Identification System network at the American Academy of
Emergency Medicine (AAEM) 13th Annual Scientific Assembly
conference in Las Vegas, bringing the Company's total number
of enrolled hospitals to more than 500.
Scott R.
Silverman, Chairman and CEO of VeriChip, commented, "We are
very pleased to add 65 new hospitals to our network on day
one of this three-day conference. Furthermore, we are proud
to achieve a significant milestone in our infrastructure
build-out. With more than 500 hospitals now enrolled in the
VeriMed Patient Identification System, we are well on our
way to meeting our stated year-end goal of 800 hospitals in
the VeriMed network."
The VeriMed Patient Identification System, which consists
of a hand-held radio frequency identification (RFID)
scanner, an implantable RFID microchip, and a secure patient
database, is being used to help rapidly identify and provide
access to important health information on participating
patients.
The new healthcare facilities agreed to use the VeriMed
reader as standard protocol to scan patients that arrive in
emergency rooms unconscious, delirious or confused. The
Company continues to provide readers to hospitals and other
healthcare facilities at no charge as part of its efforts to
"seed" the infrastructure for the VeriMed patient
identification system.
About VeriChip Corporation
VeriChip Corporation, headquartered in Delray Beach,
Florida, develops, markets and sells radio frequency
identification, or RFID, systems used to identify, locate
and protect people and assets. VeriChip's goal is to become
the leading provider of RFID systems for people in the
healthcare industry. VeriChip sells passive RFID systems for
identification purposes and active RFID systems for
local-area location and identification purposes. VeriChip
recently began to market its VeriMed(TM) Patient
Identification System for rapidly and accurately identifying
people who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to
communicate. This system uses the first human-implantable
passive RFID microchip, the implantable VeriChip(TM),
cleared for medical use in October 2004 by the United States
Food and Drug Administration.
VeriChip Corporation is majority-owned by Applied Digital
Inc.
, which also owns a majority position in Digital
Angel Corporation
. For more information on VeriChip, please call
1-800- 970-2447, or email info@verichipcorp.com. Additional
information can be found online at http://www.verichipcorp.com/.
Statements about the Company's future expectations,
including future revenues and earnings, and all other
statements in this press release other than historical facts
are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is
defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
and are subject to change at any time, and the Company's
actual results could differ materially from expected
results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring
events or circumstances.
Contact: VeriChip Corporation Allison Tomek 561-805-8000
atomek@adsx.com The Ruth Group Nick Laudico (investors)
(646) 536-7030 nlaudico@theruthgroup.com Jason Rando (media)
(646) 536-7025 jrando@theruthgroup.com
VeriChip Corporation
CONTACT: Allison Tomek, VeriChip Corporation,
+1-561-805-8000,
atomek@adsx.com; or Investors, Nick Laudico,
+1-646-536-7030,
nlaudico@theruthgroup.com, or Media, Jason Rando,
+1-646-536-7025,
jrando@theruthgroup.com, both of The Ruth Group, for
VeriChip Corporation
