FDA approves chip implants

I was joking with Aaron the other day that he and I, by not keeping up with the
most recent news, were simply reinforcing each other's uninformed paranoia.  So
tonight I had the opportunity to read the dailies, and damn, being informed
hasn't dispelled my paranoia one. tiny. bit.

previous thread:
http://your.ballistichelmet.org/pipermail/heads/2004-March/002619.html



full:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29954-2004Oct13.html
Implantable Medical ID Approved By FDA

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 14, 2004; Page A01

A microchip that can be implanted under the skin to give doctors instant access
to a patient's records yesterday won government approval, a step that could
transform medical care but is raising alarm among privacy advocates.

The tiny electronic capsule, the first such device to receive Food and Drug
Administration approval, transmits a unique code to a scanner that allows
doctors to confirm a patient's identity and obtain detailed medical information
from an accompanying database.

Applied Digital Solutions Inc. of Delray Beach, Fla., plans to market the
VeriChip systems -- the chips, scanners and computerized database -- to
hospitals, doctors and patients as a way to improve care and avoid errors by
ensuring that doctors know whom they are treating and the patient's personal
health details.

Doctors would scan patients like cans of soup at a grocery store. Instead of the
price, the patient's medical record would pop up on a computer screen. Emergency
room doctors could scan unconscious car accident victims to check their blood
type and medications and make sure they have no drug allergies. Surgeons could
scan patients in the operating room to guard against cutting into the wrong
person. Chips could be implanted in Alzheimer's patients in case they get lost.

"In hospitals today, many deaths occur because people aren't able to communicate
timely enough their medical information or because of wrong information," said
Scott Silverman, the company's chief executive. "With VeriChip, you'll be able
to have accurate information even if a patient can't talk. It's a way to
modernize our antiquated system of medical records."

The approval was immediately denounced by privacy advocates, who fear it could
endanger patient privacy and mark a dangerous step toward a Big Brother future
in which people will be tracked by the implants or required to have them
inserted for surveillance, identification and other purposes.

"Once the technology is out there and is available, it raises the very real
possibility that people in a position to require or demand it will begin to do
that," said Katherine Albrecht, who has campaigned against such devices. "It
would obviously be possible to inject one of these into everyone. In the
post-9/11 world, we are already racing down the path to total surveillance. The
only thing missing to clinch the deal has been the technology. This may fill
that gap."

The VeriChip technology was developed to track livestock and has been implanted
in about 1 million cats and dogs to identify lost or stolen house pets. But the
technology has a variety of other potential uses, and the company has already
sold about 7,000 chips for human use, about 1,000 of which have been implanted.

Mexico's attorney general announced in July that he had one of the devices
injected into his arm, as had about 160 of his lieutenants, to control access to
high-security offices. In bars in Amsterdam and Barcelona, patrons can have the
chips implanted to allow them to enter exclusive areas and keep track of their tabs.

The company is investigating other applications, including using the chips as
"electronic dog tags" for soldiers, creating "smart guns" with built-in scanners
that ensure they can be fired only by someone with a corresponding implant, and
enabling stores to verify a customer's identity before accepting a credit card.


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