Brad,

Thanks for sharing this with us. It will be a cold day in heck before they
implant a VeriChip inme.

I can see no reason for this chip, and I will pray that President Bush
doesn't pass this one at all.

Praying for no chip implants in any of us. That could be the mark of the
beast. What do ya think, Phil and Everyone?

Love and Blessings,
Pat Ferguson

At 10:40 PM 10/13/04, you wrote:
>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.