VeriChip Adds 78 New Hospitals to Its Network

VeriChip Corporation, a provider of RFID systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that 78 new hospitals agreed to participate in the VeriMed Patient Identification System network at the Emergency Department Practice Management Association's (EDPMA) tenth annual conference in Las Vegas on May 16-18. More than 600 hospitals have now agreed to participate in the VeriMed network. Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and CEO of VeriChip, commented, "We are very pleased with the continued acceptance of the VeriMed Patient Identification system by hospital emergency departments as they recognize the value it provides in improving patient care. VeriMed's footprint continues to grow in regions throughout the U.S. and we expect to enroll additional hospitals during the remainder of this year, with a goal of 800 hospitals in our network by year-end." The VeriMed Patient Identification System, which consists of a hand-held radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner, an implantable RFID microchip, and a secure patient database, is being used to help rapidly identify and provide access to important health information on participating patients. The new healthcare facilities agreed to use the VeriMed reader as standard protocol to scan patients that arrive in emergency rooms unconscious, delirious or confused. The Company continues to provide readers to hospitals and other healthcare facilities at no charge as part of its efforts to "seed" the infrastructure for the VeriMed patient identification system.