I was more referring to the lack of any centralized database. Mistakes happen, and while cutting off one leg when it should have been the other is quite the doozy, to put it mildly, if you live in Florida and go and vacation in Washington and happen to do into a coma, you're kind of up a creek without a paddle as far as who you're with being able to provide a comprehensive medical history goes.
Of course, that would mean I'd have to get into my complaints about HIPAA, and I don't think anyone wants me to go there. Ever.