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More Americans die each year from medical errors than from breast cancer,colon cancer, and vehicle accidents combined. To ensure that medicalcaregivers have accurate, current information -- when and where they need it-- a group of Virginia doctors invented the VitalKey, a medical recordsmanagement service that provides consumers with a digital copy of their actualmedical records. They've expanded on these capabilities with the new PinkKey.
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"Like our VitalKey, the Pink Key is an invaluable tool to help peoplenavigate the increasingly complex, and expensive, world of health care," saidTom Blue, VitalKey's chief operating officer. "With multiple physician andspecialist relationships, and frequent changes in treatment options andprotocols, breast cancer patients, survivors and their families faceespecially daunting challenges that the Pink Key was designed to help solve."
The Pink Key offers these benefits and many additional capabilities, underthe direction of its inventor, Dr. James Khatcheressian, breast cancerspecialist and health services researcher at the Virginia CommonwealthUniversity Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Virginia. He authored thedefinitive review of supportive care strategies for breast cancer patients inOncology and is lead author for the American Society of Clinical Oncology'spractice guidelines for breast cancer follow-up -- the national practiceguideline source for U.S. oncologists. Dr. Khatcheressian also has workedextensively with cancer patients at Massey to provide them helpfulinformational tools and developed a web-based concept for these tools that ledto his partnership with VitalKey and joint development of the Pink Key.
All VitalKeys, including the Pink Key, can be lifesavers if their holdersare ever involved in an emergency care situation and unable to speak orotherwise communicate with medical professionals who are not familiar withtheir medical records, medications, allergies and other special medical needs.VitalKeys contain all such records and may be accessed from virtually anycomputer; Internet access is not required to open a VitalKey.
For further information about the Pink Key or VitalKey, go towww.vitalkey.com or call 877 VITALKEY (877-848-2553).Special features of the Pink Key include: -- Tools to track medical appointments and procedures, including setting reminders. -- Content written and maintained by Dr. Khatcheressian about all facets of breast cancer, including diagnosis, treatment and survivorship issues. -- Links to special content areas on the VitalKey web site, at www.vitalkey.com, that provide additional information that has been provided by or approved by cancer specialists. -- Access to VitalKey medical liaison staffers, who currently are registered nurses with supplementary training in breast cancer issues. These staff members help Pink Key subscribers by working with them to gather and enter medical records on their Pink Keys, and call subscribers for periodic updates to their Keys.
SOURCE VitalKey
