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VeriChip Corporation to Launch
Direct-to-Consumer Campaign
Company Launches its “Health
Link” System in South Florida;
Joins Forces with HearUSA to Facilitate Consumer Access and Adoption
through HEARx Stores
DELRAY BEACH,
FL – April 22, 2008 – VeriChip Corporation
(the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CHIP), a provider of radio
frequency identification (RFID) systems
for healthcare and patient-related needs, will launch its first-ever
direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing campaign in
South Florida
on April 28. As part of this campaign, the Company has renamed its
patient identification system Health Link and created a new website
at
www.healthlinkinfo.com that will go live at the campaign
launch. The site will provide complete information about the product
and how to enroll as a Health Link member. VeriChip has also entered
into a relationship with HearUSA, Inc. (AMEX: EAR), a leading
provider of hearing care, which has eight HEARx locations throughout
the Palm Beach
market where patients can enroll in Health Link.
Health Link is the connection between
you and your personal health record. It provides emergency room
doctors and nurses with immediate access to your vital medical and
emergency contact information, which will help them to treat you
rapidly, accurately and safely during an emergency.
Health Link utilizes a tiny microchip (similar in size to a
grain of rice) and a secure, private, online database that links you
to your personal health record. Your Health Link is always with you
and cannot be lost or stolen.
The Health Link microchip stores only a
unique 16-digit identification number and is injected just under the
skin in the rear upper portion of the right arm.
When a Health Link member presents in an emergency department
unconscious, unresponsive or confused, emergency medical personnel
use the Health Link scanner to retrieve the member’s identification
number to access his or her personal health record.
Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and CEO of
VeriChip, said, “Given our successful infrastructure build-out in
South Florida, we are now ready to escalate our marketing efforts to
increase consumer awareness and adoption through the first DTC
launch of our product. We chose to partner with HearUSA because of
their impeccable reputation as a quality provider of hearing health
care. This partnership also allows us to offer consumers a
convenient location in a professional setting where they can be
educated on Health Link and enroll as a member.”
To lead its DTC launch, VeriChip has
hired Samuel Ambrose as vice president of business development.
Ambrose brings more than 16 years of sales and marketing experience
to VeriChip, including senior sales and marketing positions with
Office Depot, Boston Market and the Florida Panthers. He has a
proven track record of bringing products to market successfully and
his experience includes development of local, regional and national
level marketing and advertising plans designed to build incremental
sales.
Silverman said, “We are fortunate to
have a well-respected and highly capable marketing executive like
Samuel Ambrose to lead this important effort of growing our Health
Link business and producing consistent revenue from subscribers.”
About HearUSA
HearUSA, Inc. provides hearing care to
patients primarily through more than 190 company-owned hearing care
centers, which offer a complete range of quality hearing aids with
an emphasis on the latest digital technology. HearUSA Centers are
located in California,
Florida, New York,
New Jersey, Massachusetts,
Ohio, Michigan,
Missouri, North Carolina,
and the province of
Ontario,
Canada. The company also derives
revenues from its HearUSA Hearing Care Network, comprised of 1,900
affiliated audiologists in 49 states, as well as its website that
enables online purchases of hearing related products, such as
batteries, hearing aid accessories and assistive listening devices.
For further information, click on "investor information" at the
HearUSA website: www.hearusa.com.
About VeriChip
VeriChip Corporation, headquartered in
Delray Beach, Florida,
develops, markets and sells 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. The Company recently began marketing Health Link, a
passive RFID system for rapidly and accurately identifying people
who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to communicate. This
system uses the first human-implantable passive RFID microchip
cleared for medical use in October 2004 by the United States Food
and Drug Administration.
For more information on VeriChip, please
call 1-800-970-2447, or email info@verichipcorp.com. Additional
information can be found online at
http://www.verichipcorp.com.
Statements about the
Company's future expectations, including growth of the business,
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.
Information about factors that could affect the
Company’s business is set forth in the Company’s various filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set
forth in the Company’s 10-K filed on March 28, 2008, under the
caption “Risk Factors.” The Company undertakes no obligation to
update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as
required by law.
###
CONTACTS:
For VeriChip Corporation
Allison Tomek
(561) 805-8008
atomek@digitalangel.com
Investor Relations for VeriChip
Dan Schustack
CEOcast
212-732-4300
dschustack@ceocast.com
For
HearUSA, Inc
Stephen J.
Hansbrough
Chairman,
President & CEO
(561)
478-8770
Investor Relations for HearUSA
Scott Liolios
or Ron Both
Liolios
Group, Inc.
(949)
574-3860
info@liolios.com
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