Verichip

[planet]

I don't usually do the debates, but this is pretty interesting and I wonder what people think.

Verichip makes computer chips that get implanted in the arm and contain medical information.

http://www.verichipcorp.com/

Look at the other aspects of the corporation.

[Auspicious]

I vote that this is highly creepy.

Also:

The roots of VeriChip trace back to the events of September 11, 2001 when New York firemen were writing their badge ID numbers on their chests in case they were found injured or unconscious. It was evident there was a desperate need for personal information in emergency situations and that an injectable RFID microchip could help patients.

Gets a huge from me. I hate it when everyone who wants to do something orwellian trots out September 11 as the justification for it. I think it's a very cheap shot. These guys even threw in "firefighters" for good measure. I believe soldiers have been writing or tattooing medical info like blood type on themselves for much longer, but that doesn't make people lay down and submit, so it's not mentioned.

Yikes we've got to be careful.

[mommax3]

Ewww. It reminds me of that Tom Cruise movie (before I knew he was a freak) with the precogs, among other things.

However......if they could make some kind of GPS deal that I could use to locate my kids, I would LOVE it! (Only partly kidding...... ) Right now the issue is that they take off on their bikes, or just are playing in a backyard 3 or 4 yards away and I can't see them/they can't hear me. I can't even think about when they start driving.

Sally

[Meenah]

I actually bought the "micro chips" for my dogs. They are implanted under the skin in the posterior neck area.

Here are my thoughts, but in brief since I have to get to work.

I have no aversion to the technology.

The main issues I have with this have more to do with the business aspect, misuse, ownership of medical records and privacy. My understanding from the most recent AMA rag is that some insurers in NJ are mulling over reimbursing doctors for implanting the chips. Do docs get paid line item by insurers currently to do notes or discharge summaries? As far as I know they don’t. Reimbursement for a procedure that is generally administrative in nature needs to be applied more broadly or not at all IMO. The other business part that bothers me is the company’s other current area of expertise, marketing. This makes me suspicious of the information gathering and use that might be applied to the chip and companion software. I also have had the unfortunate experience of being seen twice by third year med students. I say unfortunate because the first was just totally incompetent (though nice) and the second left my whole file in the room when he went out. The inaccuracies in my record were shocking (total understatement) and included some things that were downright laughable (like that my paternal grandfather died 20 years before my father was born???? the only thing that would have made it funnier would have been death by ovarian cancer ). But I learned that I don’t actually own my medical records as I own most other personal items. I can only get copies and cannot make changes. Until some legal footing is found that lets an individual have more control over their own records I think allowing implant of information tied to those records is more than physically invasive, not sure of the proper term, but it strikes me like an invasion of intellectual property. Why does it have to be an implanted chip anyways? The info could be on a medical card or even a smart bracelet or necklace. The implanting seems a bit of an extreme jump. What will really get me suspicious is if the military starts making this standard. Then I'll start following the corporate money trail. I like my privacy and the right to give up my privacy if I choose. I worry that an individual may have implanted information that is read and collected in ways they do not understand and against their will.

But if I could have spiderman webbing inserted in my wrists to catch the kids, I’d do it in a heartbeat!

[planet]

Sorry, above was me.