Thursday, March 22, 2007

CDC Gets On Board with OnStar

Filed under: Emergency Medicine , Society

Just a few weeks ago we learned about the innovative concept of social networks for disaster relief -- now a similar idea is already hitting the mainstream, as the CDC will partner with GM to use the OnStar service to locate crash victims:

GM's OnStar system alerts emergency rescue officials when an air bag deploys or the vehicle is struck in a moderate to severe crash. Subscribers can also receive driving directions, roadside assistance and other services.

Emergency responders could benefit from the OnStar system because its sensors transmit real-time data pinpointing where a vehicle was struck, whether it rolled over or if it was hit several times.

That type of precision can help emergency officials make the "absolutely critical decision" of whether to send a crash victim to a Level I trauma center, which provides the highest level of trauma care, said Dr. Richard Hunt, who leads the CDC's division of injury response at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

We think this is a great idea. We wonder, though -- as OnStar expands from emergency services to providing directions, will the CDC partnership lead to intrusions in your privacy? Just don't ask for directions to Taco Bell...

More from OnStar...

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