In the near future, battlefield medics may look no further than a wounded soldier's computerized "dog tags" for his X-rays, shot records and complete medical history.
Development of a device known as a "PIC," or personal information carrier, will go a long way toward helping the military keep track of the medical histories of troops scattered around globe."Historically, medical record-keeping and documentation has been imperfect, especially during deployments," the Army surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Ronald Blanck, noted during a Pentagon briefing Thursday.
Blanck showed reporters several versions of the small plastic tags, which will be tested by the military in 1998. They are expected to be sent to servicemen and women in 1999, the general said.
The device will be worn by servicemen and -women and updated by medical personnel using portable computers at the time of any examination or treatment.
Copies of an individual's records will be stored on computers.
The "dog tag" also will be able to store information on the environment and the area where a service member was located, so as to assess "when and where individuals might have been exposed to hazardous conditions," the Defense Department said.
One of the major problems in assessing the conditions of veterans reporting unexplained ailments that have come to be known as Gulf War syndrome has been understanding what chemicals or environmental hazards they may have been exposed to during the conflict, and exactly where they were.
The Pentagon statement noted that much remains to be done before the new "dog tag" system will be in place.
Blanck said the cost of the computerized "dog tag" could drop to about 75 cents apiece once full production is reached, but the "envelope" that reads the information will cost about $130 each.