AMDA Foundation to Initiate Study of VeriMed Patient Identification System
Category: News and Politics


American Medical Directors Association Foundation to Initiate Study of VeriMed Patient Identification System Study goal to demonstrate improved patient outcomes due to better access to important medical information DELRAY BEACH, FL – January 8, 2008 – VeriChip Corporation ("VeriChip" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CHIP), a provider of RFID systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) will initiate a study of the Company's VeriMed-- Patient Identification System. The Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved study is expected to begin February 1.

This IRB-approved study by the AMDA Foundation responds to the growing physician demand for the VeriMed Patient Identification System. Upon completion of the study, the Company intends to use the results to seek reimbursement approval from insurance companies and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VeriChip, said, "This AMDA Foundation study is extremely important; we believe a positive outcome will bring us one step closer to insurance and CMS reimbursement, which we see as a turning point in the future growth of our company."

The study is a prospective, randomized, comparative clinical study to assess whether implementation of the VeriMed Patient Identification System can improve patient outcomes and medical information acquisition and documentation in transfers from long-term care facilities, including both skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, to hospital emergency departments. The study will involve a total of 10 facilities and 100 participants and will last one year, or until the 100th hospitalization, whichever occurs later.

About the AMDA FoundationThe AMDA Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organization, serves as the research arm of AMDA. The Foundation's mission is: "The AMDA Foundation advances excellence in patient care through research and its translation into long term care practice to support the members and mission of the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA)." The Foundation also takes an active role in outreach to residents, fellows and young career physicians with an interest in long term care. Visit the AMDA Foundation at www.amdafoundation.org.