A common problem during hospital admissions involves obtaining a patient's complete and thorough medical record. If the patient is new to the hospital, has admissions to outside hospitals, or visits physicians not affiliated with the hospital, it is cumbersome to track down the information in a timely fashion. As a result clinicians are practicing with incomplete information. This situation is not limited to hospital admissions alone as when a patient visits any medical establishment for the first time records have to be obtained. The solution I am proposing involves converting all medical records to an electronic form and storing this information on an encrypted portable electronic device (a "chip") that the patient can be responsible for. The patient would carry this device to his/her various clinicial visits. An alternative would be a universal electronic database accesible at the very least to all hospitals.

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