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.
>
>