The patient him or herself. We advise people to consult their usual doctor and pharmacist.
Nothing, and nobody. It is obviously in the interest of the owner of the file to enter answers that are as accurate as possible. Anyway, an illness that you have not had, or an imaginary operation, or even an unlikely blood group will only catch the doctor’s eye. He will then check further or at any rate take greater precautions.
The file is anonymous. No one will know that it applies to you, unless you specifically give your name, and this is always entirely at your discretion. In any event, you only enter what you feel is important and should be known in an emergency. Your file could very well include no more than your allergies and vaccinations.
It is not a database, but a personal INTERNET page. The page is anonymous and only its owner can control it. This complies with the privacy laws.
No. It gives access to data that the owner would want to be known for his own safety. Bear in mind as well that these are not medical files in the strict sense of the term. In fact they’re quite the opposite. Conventional medical files are managed by one or more doctors and must comply with each country’s regulations on confidentiality and privacy. LIFEBADGE is the modern version of a paper health card you put in your wallet. This means it’s open to everyone (even those not out to help you!). LIFEBADGE is permanently available over the INTERNET, is very comprehensive and multilingual.
No. To start with, the server is very well protected (encryption, etc.). But more importantly, LIFEBADGE is not a conventional database. The personal page holding your file is anonymous and separate from the other pages. The data in it cannot be used statistically, because you, the owner, manages them – not a doctor. There is no guarantee that a doctor has checked the information recorded. Finally, LIFEBADGE uses a unique method of protecting personal pages.
Its work is immediately taken over by other servers spread around the world.
Never. That’s a basic principle at LIFEBADGE. We don’t want to know who the users of our cards are – and we can’t find out.
You can always access your file, delete it completely, buy a new card and create a new file. Always remember your password, and keep a copy of your LIFEBADGE address (card number) in several places, including in your INTERNET "favorites".
It’s the same as losing it. You can delete your old file completely and buy a new card. Always remember your password, and keep a copy of your LIFEBADGE address (card number) in several places, including in your INTERNET "favorites".
Because you need to know a lot about both emergency medicine and new technology. This highly effective solution would have been technically impossible before the year 2000.
Yes, but only if you specifically authorise him to do so (in writing, dated and signed).
Yes, but only if you specifically authorise him to do so (in writing, dated and signed).
Whenever you like, but ideally once a year and after each illness or accident. It takes only a few minutes to check your file - and remember, you can do it from anywhere in the world.
Absolutely none, and there never will be.
Never. In fact, you could say that you don’t have a LIFEBADGE card, as it isn’t compulsory.
Anybody you authorise to do so, as well as anyone giving you treatment if you are unconscious. This is the main reason for you creating the file in the first place.
No. The card is individual. Each member of the family has to have his or her own card.
Yes, but only if they are current devices that handle the required INTERNET functions.
Yes, yes and yes.
No matter which country you’re in, it’s not up to the General Medical Council or anybody else to control an INTERNET site you alone own. You can place any information on it you want. No doctor is responsible for what you put in your file. Even if you consult doctors, they cannot guarantee or be responsible for what you decide to put in your file, or what you decide to leave out.
Yes. Their parents or legal guardians fill in their file for them.
Currently it’s in French, English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish and Japanese. We’ll extend this over time to around 25 languages.
Yes, but you have to buy a special code over the INTERNET from the LIFEBADGE site. We secure and manage the purchase so that the company marketing LIFEBADGE doesn’t learn anyone’s identity. The code lets you use an extra function. You can then add an X-ray or ECG to your file - or any other digitised image you have and feel would be useful.
No. It holds only the printed number (which can be copied).
You use it to create your file and to modify details as you choose. You don’t need it to consult the file because to do that, you only need your card number.
Yes, provided the computer has an INTERNET connection (and depending on the state of the INTERNET network at the time).
None. You are solely responsible for the data that you include (or don’t include) on your personal page. The company denies all liability for any consequences resulting from using, or not using, the file created by users. Your doctor and your pharmacist do not bear any responsibility, either.
Yes, if the person authorises you to do so (in writing, signed and dated), or if you are the legal guardian of that person.
Yes, if you authorise them to do so.
Yes. Their safety is at stake. But giving the card number (by phone, if necessary) is enough.
It is very easy. Instructions are featured on at the LIFEBADGE INTERNET site, and also at EURO112, USA911, CANADA911, AMERICA131, AUSTRALIA000, etc.
Yes. All you have to do is delete all the data, which will take a maximum of 5 to 10 minutes.
Yes. There are solutions based in the United States, France and Holland, and others too. Many of them are designed along similar lines: they are proper databases, the files are not anonymous, they use doctors to certify data, they may be expensive, and may not be multilingual or accessible by mobile phone. The files are cumbersome to complete and especially to consult - not designed for emergencies! Finally, only the odd one can handle images.
In 1986, the EC asked each member country to implement health cards or health files. Between 1994 and 1998, research in this area cost €125M. The work is on-going, but problematic because of the strict confidentiality rules for medical data held by doctors, and the laws protecting personal privacy. LIFEBADGE is one solution. LIFEBADGE is not aimed at doctors, but at the patients themselves. It is a voluntary process that gives patients total control over their anonymous health files. The equivalent of LIFEBADGE EURO112 is called USA911 in the United States; CANADA911 in CANADA; AMERICA131 in South America; ASIA000 in Asia; AFRICA000 in Africa; and AUSTRALIA000 in Australia. LIFEBADGE is a 100% Belgian invention, but can be used world-wide.