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QR codes with medical histories help patients in emergencies

Rebecca | February 22, 2013

By personalizing the barcodes, first responders can gain immediate access to patient information.

A contest called the Startup Weekend Health competition in Philadelphia was held for the second time this year, and in this instance, it was won by a concept for using personalized QR codes that provide emergency responders, such as paramedics, to scan them in order to obtain relevant patient data.

This use of the barcodes allows the medical professionals to obtain vital information right away.

Even if a patient has been rendered unconscious, is in shock, or is unable to provide accurate information, the QR codes give the first responders access to his or her medical information. The hope is that by using technology in this way, it could help medical personnel to reduce the chance of accidentally administering the wrong type of treatment to a patient.

The data revealed by the QR codes could help an emergency responder to better save a life.

This is because by scanning the QR codes in an emergency room or even out when a paramedic is responding to a call, the patient’s allergies, the medications that he or she is taking, and his or her medical conditions can be revealed. This can help the responder to make a decision that is more appropriate to the needs of that specific individual.

Moreover, When the right app is used, it becomes possible for QR codes to give the medical responders the ability to send out a text message to the patient’s emergency contacts. This way, even more information can become available, and personal support can become available to that patient.

The entire concept for the QR codes used in this way was pitched for the contest by a team from the In Case of Emergency (mICE) program. The leader of that group, David Bendell, made the actual pitch, and the entire plan for the program itself was put together by a team of seven people within 48 hours of the pitch itself. Though they won first prize – an interview with DreamIt Health, their main concern is now that two members of the team (including Bendell, himself) are international students. They will need to find full time jobs before May 2013 or their visas will run out before they can continue this project.

Geolocation data increases its importance in targeted mobile marketing

Rebecca | February 20, 2013

Real time information about consumer location are playing a larger part in advertising over smartphones.

As smartphones and tablets continue to make their way into a growing number of consumer hands, mobile marketers have been keen to use geolocation data in order to help to better target device owners while they’re on the go.

Mobile marketing is rapidly evolving and incorporating new technologies and techniques.

Although advertising in the mobile sphere is still relatively new, it is growing and changing very quickly. Along with this increase, many marketers are looking into using more sophisticated data in order to improve the effectiveness of their strategies. In this, many campaigns are now including geolocation data to help to ensure that consumers are being provided with relevant offers at the most appropriate times.

This is making geolocation increasingly important to timing and targeting in the mobile marketing environment.

A recent report issued by Econsultancy has revealed that more than a quarter (27 percent) of companies around the world intend to implement some form of marketing strategy that uses geolocation, this year. Another 34 percent intend to make an investment into a mobile advertising strategy.

More data, which was released by a geolocation mobile ad platform, Verve Mobile, looked into more than 2,500 American mobile ad campaigns that were implemented across that platform. What it determined was that the percentage of mobile marketing campaigns that implemented some level of geolocation technology, such as geoware targeting and geofencing, had increased twice over. This brought the 2011 level of 17 percent up to 36 percent last year.

This type of geolocation mobile marketing campaign applies data from a consumer’s real time location in order to be able to provide that individual with specific, relevant, and frequently dynamic ads based on his or her proximity to a certain location such as a retail store. It can also be activated when a user enters a space or checks into a location. It can then monitor that user’s response to the message and enhance future communications for improved relevancy to that individual’s preferences, behaviors, and habits for improved appropriateness and usefulness of advertising.