Little by little.
Brad
Lelia Struve wrote:
>Wow are we getting closer to the mark so quickly? Or am I overreacting?
>
>
>Lelia Struve email [log in to unmask] msn [log in to unmask]
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "BD" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 9:40 PM
>Subject: *****SPAM*****, FDA and Computer Chip
>
>
> > FDA approves computer chip for humans
> > Devices could help doctors with stored medical information
> > The VeriChip, the size of a grain of rice, is inserted under the skin
>with=
> > =20
> > a needle in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes to complete.
> > The Associated Press
> > Updated: 6:38 p.m. ET Oct. 13, 2004
> >
> > WASHINGTON - Medical milestone or privacy invasion? A tiny computer
>chip=20
> > approved Wednesday for implantation in a patient=92s arm can speed
>vital=20
> > information
> > about a patient=92s medical history to doctors and hospitals. But
>critics=20
> > warn that it could open new ways to imperil the confidentiality of
>medical=
> > =20
> > records.
> >
> > The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that Applied Digital=20
> > Solutions of Delray Beach, Fla., could market the VeriChip, an
>implantable=
> > =20
> > computer
> > chip about the size of a grain of rice, for medical purposes.
> >
> > With the pinch of a syringe, the microchip is inserted under the skin in
>a=
> > =20
> > procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and leaves no stitches.
>Silently=
> > and
> > invisibly, the dormant chip stores a code that releases
>patient-specific=20
> > information when a scanner passes over it.
> >
> > Think UPC code. The identifier, emblazoned on a food item, brings up
>its=20
> > name and price on the cashier=92s screen.
> >
> > Chip's dual uses raise alarm
> > The VeriChip itself contains no medical records, just codes that can be=20
> > scanned, and revealed, in a doctor=92s office or hospital. With that
>code,=
> > =20
> > the health
> > providers can unlock that portion of a secure database that holds that=20
> > person=92s medical information, including allergies and prior treatment.
>The=
> > =20
> > electronic
> > database, not the chip, would be updated with each medical visit.
> >
> > The microchips have already been implanted in 1 million pets. But the=20
> > chip=92s possible dual use for tracking people=92s movements =97 as well
>as=
> > =20
> > speeding delivery
> > of their medical information to emergency rooms =97 has raised alarm.
> >
> > =93If privacy protections aren=92t built in at the outset, there could
>be=20
> > harmful consequences for patients,=94 said Emily Stewart, a policy
>analyst=
> > at=20
> > the Health
> > Privacy Project.
> >
> > To protect patient privacy, the devices should reveal only vital
>medical=20
> > information, like blood type and allergic reactions, needed for health
>care=
> > =20
> > workers
> > to do their jobs, Stewart said.
> >
> > An information technology guru at Detroit Medical Center, however, sees
>the=
> > =20
> > benefits of the devices and will lobby for his center=92s inclusion in a=
> > VeriChip
> > pilot program.
> >
> > =93One of the big problems in health care has been the medical records=20
> > situation. So much of it is still on paper,=94 said David Ellis, the=
> > center=92s=20
> > chief futurist
> > and co-founder of the Michigan Electronic Medical Records Initiative.
> >
> > 'Part of the future of medicine'
> > As =93medically mobile=94 patients visit specialists for care, their
>records=
> > =20
> > fragment on computer systems that don=92t talk to each other.
> >
> > =93It=92s part of the future of medicine to have these kinds of
>technologies=
> > =20
> > that make life simpler for the patient,=94 Ellis said. Pushing for the=
> > strongest
> > encryption algorithms to ensure hackers can=92t nab medical data as=20
> > information transfers from chip to reader to secure database, will help=20
> > address privacy
> > concerns, he said.
> >
> > The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday announced=20
> > $139 million in grants to help make real President Bush=92s push for=20
> > electronic health
> > records for most Americans within a decade.
> >
> > William A. Pierce, an HHS spokesman, could not say whether VeriChip and
>its=
> > =20
> > accompanying secure database of medical records fit within that
>initiative.
> >
> > =93Exactly what those technologies are is still to be sorted out,=94
>Pierce=
> > =20
> > said. =93It all has to respect and comport with the privacy rules.=94
> >
> > Applied Digital gave away scanners to a few hundred animal shelters and=20
> > veterinary clinics when it first entered the pet market 15 years ago.
>Now,=
> > =20
> > 50,000
> > such scanners have been sold.
> >
> > To kickstart the chip=92s use among humans, Applied Digital will provide=
> > $650=20
> > scanners for free at 200 of the nation=92s trauma centers.
> >
> > Implantation costs $150 to $200
> > In pets, installing the chip runs about $50. For humans, the chip=20
> > implantation cost would be $150 to $200, said Angela Fulcher, an
>Applied=20
> > Digital spokeswoman.
> >
> > Fulcher could not say whether the cost of data storage and encrypted=20
> > transmission of medical information would be passed to providers.
> >
> > Because the VeriChip is invisible, it=92s also unclear how health care=20
> > workers would know which unconscious patients to scan. Company
>officials=20
> > say if the
> > chip use becomes routine, scanning triceps for hidden chips would
>become=20
> > second nature at hospitals.
> >
> > Ultimately, the company hopes patients who suffer from such ailments as=20
> > diabetes and Alzheimer=92s or who undergo complex treatments, like=20
> > chemotherapy, would
> > have chips implanted. If the procedure proves as popular for use in
>humans=
> > =20
> > as in pets, that could mean up to 1 million chips implanted in people. So=
> > far,
> > just 1,000 people across the globe have had the devices implanted, very
>few=
> > =20
> > of them in the United States.
> >
> > The company=92s chief executive officer, Scott R. Silverman, is one of a=
> > half=20
> > dozen executives who had chips implanted. Silverman said chips implanted
>for
> > medical uses could also be used for security purposes, like tracking=20
> > employee movement through nuclear power plants.
> >
> > Such security uses are rare in the United States.
> >
> > Meanwhile, the chip has been used for pure whimsy: Club hoppers in=20
> > Barcelona, Spain, now use the microchip to enter a VIP area and,
>through=20
> > links to a different
> > database, speed payment much like a smartcard.
> >
> > Complete coverage
> >
> > Keep up with the latest news on health care
> > =A9 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
>be=
> > =20
> > published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
> >
> >
Brad
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