FDA Approves Implantable RFID for Patients

anzha writes "It seems that the FDA has approved an RFID tag for use in patients. The idea being that the rice grain sized chip would be implanted and scanned for patient history and updates. It seems that a similar chip was used by the Mexican government for employees that work with sensitive documents. IDK about you, but this seems a to me little...creepy."

Comments

Defibrilator

[cartzworth]

My grandfathers defib has information stored on it, although I'm not sure its it's RFID.

Cashless society.. coming right up.

[Anonymous Coward]

Rev 13:16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or[6] the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Repent, the end is near.

Implant?

[Databass]

Can't I just keep it in my wallet or embedded in my shoes or on my car keys or something?

Patents and security?

[darnok]

...So I go to hospital, and one of these RFID tags is implanted within me.

Next time I visit doctor/hospital, what restrictions are there on info from "my" tag being read? Two possible options I can see:
- everyone can read my info, and now I have to worry about my health info being scanned by everyone with any remote interest in it. Get on a plane - *SCAN*; "Sorry sir, we believe your heart may give out on this flight and we don't want any lawsuits". Go to a job interview - *SCAN*; "Sorry but we won't employ someone with your health problems"
- nobody can read my info except for readers authorised by the single company controlling the implants. Hmm, now I wonder how they could conceivably abuse that information...

Thanks, but no thanks - I'll take my chances with anonymity. The possibilities of abuse of this technology are just too high

Re:More hysteria

[dgatwood]

I think you're making too much of it in this particular situation. This is just like a hospital bracelet, only probably less uncomfortable, and less likely to get lost/damaged/chewed off by someone with dementia. I wouldn't expect anything like this for somebody who was just in for the day. This is the kind of thing that would mainly be needed for "lifers", or at least for people who need long-term rehabilitation. Just think of it as a more effective "Medic Alert".

Whatever is Created

[swat_r2]

Whatever is created can also be hacked. That's both scary and liberating at the same time. I'm used to incompetence on a daily basis from every person I deal with, from the grocer, to my friendly neighborhood hospital. We're human, and I make mistakes as much as the nex guy. Technology isn't going to solve these problems, but I can see the mistakes being more severe. We're on our way to being slaves to data.. I wonder how close we are to the 20,000 year cycle, and if our number close to being up. Take that as you will ;)

Two thousand year old prior art

[vegetablespork]

And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

- Revelation 13:16-17

Re:SSN, Drivers License, CC #, and Now a chip

[sw155kn1f3]

> When SSNs first came out, everybody warned about the possibility of abuse for its use as a national number similar to how the nazi's and USSR did

I don't know about nazis, but USSR didn't have any ID number. They have a passport with issued # on it. (quite standard thing for any ID I believe). It wasn't used for anything important anyway.
In modern Russia they still have these passport #'s... Not used for anything important too. There was an attempt to give every citizen Tax #, but it's not mandatory. I didn't ever encountered a situation where you need one. So stop making things up please.