Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California have the option to purchase an encrypted USB flash drive for $5...

Kaiser Permanente Introduces Portable Electronic Medical Records (press release)

The drive does not contain a complete medical record but does include the following information:

- Patient demographics, including age, gender and ethnicity
- Language preferences
- Contact information for family and friends
- Primary care physician(s) info
- Active medical problem lists
- Allergies
- Immunization records
- Lab results from the past year
- Medications prescribed or refilled in the past year
- Clinic visit information with diagnoses and procedures in the past year
- Hospitalizations with diagnoses and procedures
- Most recent EKGs and chest X-rays — both readings and images

Its purpose is to let Kaiser members carry their medical information with them when traveling. Medical record updates are available for free after the initial $5 fee.

Here's what I don't see mentioned in the press release:

1. What kind of encryption is used to protect the data?
2. What is the required password strength?
3. What file formats are the data provided in? I.e., what is needed to read the data?
4. How is the medical record data updated? Online? Or does the member have to go to a Kaiser clinic/hospital?

Via ComputerWorld