Pharmacy News

Walgreens and CVS will begin offering seasonal flu shots on Tuesday, Sept. 1. (There is a separate H1N1 shot that will not be available until mid-October.) The pharmacy chains also are offering the seasonal flu shots at no charge to the unemployed.

Healthcare IT News reports that Harris Teeter pharmacies are selling and making use of personal health records on flash drives -- MedFlash (suggested retail price $34.95)-- marketed by Florida-based Connectyx Technologies Holding Group, Inc. According to the Connectyx web site

The data file [on the MedFlash] is in an ASCII text format which can be
accessed without special software. Most hospitals and ambulance services will
not allow their personnel to load external programs due to the threat of
viruses. MedFlashtm does not require any more than the use of notepad or any
other word processor to get to the needed information. If a doctor would like to
make updates to your data, just let them load the program from your device and
they can make updates as they wish. Other files such as EKGs, MRIs and X-Rays
may be placed on the MedFlashtm device by using Windows Explorer tm. Any file
that your doctor would like to place on the MedFlashtm can be easily copied
without altering your emergency information.

Leaving aside the security issues (the website describes the device as 100% HIPAA compliant but what happens if you lose it?), how could a doctor trust this thing to be current? I sticking with the NHIN.