With our discussion on the healthcare industry and sharing medical records, I thought I would talk a little more about a topic I brought up in a previous blog. In an earlier blog, I brought up how people are implanting themselves with their medical records stored on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips so that they always have this information with them. As hospitals and doctor’s offices are turning more and more to technology in order to file and sort patient history, and everyday people are using technology to organize their lives more as well, I see the implantation of RFID chips with medical information as both parties working together to ensure proper medical treatment.
The location of this implant is in the fatty tissue of the upper arm. They are 11 mm in length and are projected to last twenty years. The FDA has also placed their stamp of approval upon the product. The PositiveID Corporation is the largest company selling this product that they call the VeriChip. The impanted chip stores a 16-digit ID number that is transmitted when scanned by a handheld VeriChip scanner. The medical staff at participating hospitals can then,
enter this number into a secure page on the VeriChip Corporation's website to access medical information that the patient has previously stored on file with the company.
I believe that it is this part of feature of the implant that can calm some patient’s qualms about privacy. If the patients have control over what information is put into this RFID they will have more control over what they share with their physicians, solving part of the issue of privacy.
While storing this information in your body could save your life, it could also potentially risk your health. Studies conducted in lab rats showed 1% to 10% of the implants resulted in cancerous tumors. According to the FDA, people with implants are also vulnerable to electrical hazards, severe reactions to getting MRIs, the surrounding tissue having allergic reactions, and the possibility that it may not stay in place, and instead travel around in your body. Needless to say, there are a few kinks to work out, and I think I’ll wait a while (and maybe forever) before getting an implant of my own.
After discussing this today in class about RFID chips and the effect they would have it makes this easier to understand. I still think you did a good job on your explanation and I am still unsure about whether this would be a good idea or not. It sounds all well and good but like you said, when it comes down to it, there are still some kinks to work out. Nobody's going to want a chip floating around in their body or have health problems but yes, It does sound like it would be a good idea if they could figure out how to do this without raising concern.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time with the idea of implanting a device into my body at this point. One day it will be all right, and the next day they would find something wrong with it. 1-10% chance of cancer is an awfully high chance for me.
ReplyDeleteImplanting something for health reasons is far from new, women have been using birth control implants in the arm for years. I think its an ingenius idea and would totally invest in the idea if the cancer rates were lower, 1-10% is high for my liking. And it'd definatly have to stay in place. And it'd have to be easy enough and cheap enough to remove because MRI's are important medical diagnostic tests that are very common.
ReplyDeleteThese RFID chips seem like a good idea in the short run, but the security issues with this are huge. I mean is this really that diffrent from keeping track of your inventory. I feel like this is just a way to keep track of people and I don't need any one keeping track of me. The RFID chip may be for some, but I wouldn't ever get one.
ReplyDeleteI think implanted chips pose a great threat to society, however, 30 years ago I'm sure the discussion of the internet brought up the same fears in people. We are already using implanted chips to locate children and pets. If the technology is right I see no harm in it.
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