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VeriChip Corporation Deploys VeriMed System in 18 Emergency Departments Through Emergency Medical Associates' Client Hospitals; Leading Physician Group To Utilize VeriMed System Throughout Hospitals in New York and New Jersey

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 September 2006, 09:01 CDT

VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions (NASDAQ: ADSX), announced today that it has deployed its VeriMed System in 18 emergency departments in New Jersey and New York, staffed by Emergency Medical Associates (EMA), a nationally-recognized, state-of-the-art emergency physician group.

The VeriMed 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 who arrive at the emergency department unconscious, delirious, or unable to communicate. Although over 150 hospitals have registered to use the VeriMed System, EMA is the first emergency physician group in the United States to have the VeriMed System available in all 18 of its contract hospitals.

"VeriChip Corporation is extremely pleased that EMA, one of the country's leading emergency physician groups, with a history of being an innovator in healthcare technology, has partnered with its client hospitals to place the VeriMed System in their emergency departments as a best practice, for the communities they serve," said Kevin McLaughlin, CEO of VeriChip Corporation. "By speaking for patients who are unable to effectively communicate, we believe that the VeriMed System complements EMA's emergency department operations by providing emergency personnel with rapid, accurate information which can improve clinical outcomes."

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, a VeriChip Corporation board member, stated, "The pending integration of the VeriMed System and EMA's state-of-the-art electronic medical record, known in the industry for over 17 years as the Emergency Department Information Manager, or EDIM (www.emis.net), offers emergency department staff access to time sensitive medical information simultaneously."

The EDIM electronic medical record system is currently used in over 24 emergency departments across the United States. It boasts the highest user compliance for utilization in the Emergency Department Information Systems software niche. Additionally, with over 8 million ED encounters in WebEMARS, its sophisticated data warehouse, Emergency Medical Associates is a recognized national leader in Health Care Business Intelligence.(TM)

"EMA's adoption of the VeriMed System was a natural fit in our ongoing commitment to being a leader in the adoption of new technology and best practices," said Charles "Rick" Grunau, MD, President and CEO of EMA. "EMA treats close to one million emergency department patients a year, so we are excited about the prospect of the VeriMed System helping us handle patients who are not able to communicate. We'll be monitoring the benefits, both operational and clinical, to assess its impact on care and outcomes," adds Dr. Grunau. "We look forward to partnering with VeriChip and our client hospitals to deploy the VeriMed readers in other applicable areas of the health care delivery system, where it can provide benefits to our patients and their families."

About VeriChip

VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital (NASDAQ:ADSX), a leading provider of identification and security technology headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, develops, markets and sells radio frequency identification, or RFID, systems used to identify, locate and protect people and assets. VeriChip's goal is to become the leading provider of RFID systems for people in the healthcare industry. VeriChip sells passive RFID systems for identification purposes and active RFID systems for local-area location and identification purposes. VeriChip recently began to market its VeriMed(TM) Patient Identification System, which is used to rapidly, and accurately identify people who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to communicate. This system uses the first human-implantable passive RFID microchip, the implantable VeriChip(TM), cleared for medical use in October 2004 by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

About Applied Digital - "The Power of Identification Technology"

Applied Digital develops innovative identification and security products for consumer, commercial, and government sectors worldwide. The Company's unique and often proprietary products provide identification and security systems for people, animals, the food supply, government/military arena, and commercial assets. Included in this diversified product line are RFID applications, end-to-end food safety systems, GPS/Satellite communications, and telecomm and security infrastructure, positioning Applied Digital as the leader in identification technology. Applied Digital is the owner of a majority position in Digital Angel Corporation (AMEX:DOC).

About EMA

Emergency Medical Associates (EMA) is a premier, democratically-governed emergency physician group, which has been providing state-of-the-art emergency care for over 28 years and ensuring the highest levels of clinical excellence and patient satisfaction. To find out additional information about EMA, please visit their website at www.ema-ed.com. To view information on their emergency department information systems (EDIM and WebEMARS), please go to www.edims.net.

Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.

Source: Business Wire

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