We're Getting Tagged

[Acebot44]

MOOOOoooo!



Not the same article as above:

FDA approves use of implantable chip in patients


By The Associated Press

October 13, 2004, 2:11 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved an implantable computer chip that can pass a patient's medical details to doctors, speeding care.

VeriChips, radio frequency microchips the size of a grain of rice, have already been used to identify wayward pets and livestock. And nearly 200 people working in Mexico's attorney general's office have been implanted with chips to access secure areas containing sensitive documents.

Delray Beach, Fla.-based Applied Digital Solutions said it would give away $650 scanners to roughly 200 trauma centers around the nation to help speed its entry into the health care market.

A company spokesman would not say how much implanting chips would cost for humans, even though chips have been implanted in some, including Scott R. Silverman, the company's chief executive officer.

The company is targeting patients with diabetes, chronic cardiac conditions, Alzheimer's disease and those who undergo complex treatments like chemotherapy, said Dr. Richard Seelig, Applied Digital Solutions' vice president of medical applications.

It's the first time the FDA has approved medical use of the device, though in Mexico, more than 1,000 scannable chips have been implanted in patients. The chip's serial number pulls up the patients' blood type and other medical information.

With the pinch of a syringe, the microchip is inserted under the skin in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and leaves no stitches.

Silently and invisibly, the dormant chip stores a code -- similar to the identifying UPC code on products sold in retail stores -- that releases patient-specific information when a scanner passes over the chip.

At the doctor's office those codes stamped onto chips, once scanned, would reveal such information as a patient's allergies and prior treatments.

The FDA in October 2002 said that the agency would regulate health care applications possible through VeriChip. Meanwhile, the chip has been used for a number of security-related tasks as well as for pure whimsy: Club hoppers in Barcelona, Spain, now use the microchip much like a smartcard to speed drink orders and payment.

How do ya'll feel about this? It's shady to me

[GameMaster]

There isn't any way I'll let them monitor me like that. Freedom would never be the same. Even though I've never seen it, would this be similar to Geroge Lucas's first movie, THX 1138?

[Bube]

Originally Posted by GameMaster

There isn't any way I'll let them monitor me like that. Freedom would never be the same. Even though I've never seen it, would this be similar to Geroge Lucas's first movie, THX 1138?

Now you're impersonating DeathsHand huh? Why are you doing this to my little brain?!?!

BTW, this chip thing is very useful. There's nothing about freedom in there. It's just to make things easier, and reduce mistakes.

For example, think about a person coming in with a minor complaint. You think that it may be a heart attack, but the tests come out clean. And he doesn't tell you that he's had this problem before. Instead of him having heart failure, you see his earlier problem on the chip. You ask for more in-depth tests, and sure enough, you find a problem.

Has been known to happen... Patients just don't tell everything about themselves. This may help, and speed things up...

[Happydude]

i think in the long run, it's a good idea...but with internet security the way it is now, it's not very safe...you get a good hacker and he can find out everything about everybody...

but as i said, in the long run it's a good idea.