The Cellcom Green Bay full and half marathons will use quick response codes for emergency data.
With only just over a month to go before the Cellcom Green Bay full and half marathons are set to begin, participants for this year’s event are now receiving emails that request information about their medical history, and this will be incorporated into QR codes to make them readily accessible when the day does arrive.
This use of quick response codes is meant to make it easier for emergency responders to access medical information.
Runners in the marathons, this year, are being asked not to simply delete the emails that they are receiving from the event that request medical history information. The reason is that each of these participants is going to be issued unique QR codes that can be scanned by the medical staff at the event. In case anything should happen to the runner, the barcode can be read, and the medical staff member can obtain immediate access to vital information such as medical conditions, allergies, and medications that he or she may be using. This will allow more accurate decisions to be made quickly and effectively, while avoiding potentially dangerous mistakes.
The QR codes reduce the reliance on paper documentation which is much slower and less practical to access.
By providing a QRcode to the runner, it means that in the event that he or she is unconscious, or in a state in which he or she cannot remember every detail of every medication being used or condition that he or she has, the medical staff member will still be able to gain instant access to that information.
According to Tom Krahn, the medical coordinator for the marathon, “The last thing you’re going to want to be doing is giving someone medication when you don’t know what their allergies are.” He also pointed out that if an emergency contact – such as a parent or a friend – needs to be contacted, that information will also be available through the scanning of the quick response code. This stops the staff members from having to root through the runner’s personal possessions to try to find that information.
This is the first time in the history of the race that QR codes will be used for this purpose. The information will be accessible only to staff members who have the right scanner and passwords. The barcodes will be printed on the bibs of the runners
