Pills With Digestible Microchips Approved By US Drug Agency

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Pills With Digestible Microchips Approved By US Drug Agency

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday July 31, 2012 @04:21AM from the tastes-like-chicken dept.

ananyo writes "Digestible microchips embedded in drugs may soon tell doctors whether a patient is taking their medications as prescribed. The 'digital pills' are the first ingestible devices approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The pills contain a sand-particle sized sensor, consisting of a minute silicon chip containing trace amounts of magnesium and copper. When swallowed, it generates a slight voltage in response to digestive juices, which conveys a signal to the surface of a person's skin where a patch then relays the information to a mobile phone belonging to a healthcare-provider. Currently, the FDA, and the analogous regulatory agency in Europe have only approved the device based on studies showing its safety and efficacy when implanted in placebo pills. But Proteus Digital Health, the manufacturer, hopes to have the device approved within other drugs in the near future."

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Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by crazyjj · 2012-07-31 04:26 · Score: 5, Insightful

“About half of all people don’t take medications like they’re supposed to,” says Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla,California. “This device could be a solution to that problem, so that doctors can know when to rev up a patient’s medication adherence.”
You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when. The idea of my doctor trying to make me ingest a sensor like I'm some sort of medical prisoner is more than a little creepy to me. What's next, is he going to give me forced ball-shock treatments if I refuse to eat healthy?

--
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
1. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Kenja · 2012-07-31 04:30 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The issue is that a doctor cant treat you if you dont take your meds and patients often dont know if they have or not due to mental condition or as part of drugs side effects. This can be a major issue when you cant remember if you took the yellow pill today or not and taking another could kill you while skipping a day could cause a relapse of your condition. If on the other hand you dont want your doctor to treat you (as you indicate), then simply dont go to one.
  
  --
  
  "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
2. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by NFN_NLN · 2012-07-31 04:31 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when. The idea of my doctor trying to make me ingest a sensor like I'm some sort of medical prisoner is more than a little creepy to me. What's next, is he going to give me forced ball-shock treatments if I refuse to eat healthy?
  You are exactly the reason we need devices like this. Either take the medication as prescribed OR don't take any medication. But stop selectively breeding resistant bacteria that impact EVERYONE else.
3. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ganjadude · 2012-07-31 04:38 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I see this as more of a way to check if people are abusing drugs under the disguise of being good for the patient. take 2 pain killers instead of one? cops knock on your door. /tinfoil
  
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  have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
4. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Kenja · 2012-07-31 04:39 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  Well, to expand on that it could be used to make sure that they are actually taking their pain killers rather then reselling them. Right now this is done through a serial number on the pill being linked to the patients finger print.
  
  --
  
  "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
5. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 04:43 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget that they can already arrest tuberculosis patient for not taking their meds
6. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Dunbal · 2012-07-31 04:47 · Score: 1
  
  Note that your physician is not behind this, it's the drug companies. Why? Because the more you "comply" with your medication, the more pills they sell. Good physicians have long ago given up the paternalistic doctor model, and now we recognize that patients are autonomous and have the right to not comply with treatment if that is their wish. Of course we have to make sure they understand the consequences of not taking the pills, as well as the consequences of taking the pills. But we cannot actually "force" a patient to take medication. It's not our decision.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
7. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 04:47 · Score: 1
  
  A correct application of the delicate balance between the rights of the individual and of society. If you choose not to take medication then you must submit to quarantine.
8. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 04:50 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I would love this. Not taking my medicine leaves me in a state where I forget to take my medicine. I have my phone set to alert me to take it. This would be a big help.
9. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Dunbal · 2012-07-31 04:50 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Yeah, vets have absolutely nothing to do with bacterial resistance. I mean, those chickens need to be treated with vancomycin - absolutely all of them, as a preventative measure. Surely that has much less impact on bacterial resistance than Grand-pa who forgot to complete his pills for pseudo-membranous colitis because he felt better after a day.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
10. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by MightyYar · 2012-07-31 04:51 · Score: 1
  
  They also make the patients take a urine test. If there are no pain meds in your urine, you can't get more pills.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
11. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by CanHasDIY · 2012-07-31 04:51 · Score: 1
  
  You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when. The idea of my doctor trying to make me ingest a sensor like I'm some sort of medical prisoner is more than a little creepy to me. What's next, is he going to give me forced ball-shock treatments if I refuse to eat healthy?
  You are exactly the reason we need devices like this. Either take the medication as prescribed OR don't take any medication. But stop selectively breeding resistant bacteria that impact EVERYONE else.
  Yes, out patients choosing their own drug schedule for narcotics explains why the vast majority of antibiotic resistant strains originate from within medical facilities...
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
12. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by CanHasDIY · 2012-07-31 04:56 · Score: 1
  
  so that doctors can... rev up a patient’s medication adherence.
  Edited to emphasize the truly frightening part of this statement...
  
  So, my health decision are no longer my decisions to make? Yea, just try and force feed me some of Big Pharma's dope, you'll be pulling back bloody stumps...
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
13. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Flaming+Babies · 2012-07-31 05:01 · Score: 2
  
  “About half of all people don’t take medications like they’re supposed to,” says Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla,California. “This device could be a solution to that problem, so that doctors can know when to rev up a patient’s medication adherence.”
  You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when. The idea of my doctor trying to make me ingest a sensor like I'm some sort of medical prisoner is more than a little creepy to me. What's next, is he going to give me forced ball-shock treatments if I refuse to eat healthy?
  Trust your doctor or don't. I pay mine because I value his knowledge. The dosage he recommends is what I take. (It's not uncommon for that recommendation to be 'as needed') I think this is a silly idea...and based more on preventing the sharing/selling of medication, but I don't think there's anything creepy medically about it.
  
  --
  The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
14. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  Sure they are, but then that DR may not want you as a patient anymore.
  This is going to be used for the elderly and those who have medicine without which is it hard or impossible to remember to take or why to take your medicine. Think those on drugs that impact concentration, memory or anti-psychotics.
15. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  Totally unrelated. One does not effect the other. Just because feeding livestock antibiotics is a problem doesn't mean half-finished antibiotic courses are not.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
16. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  Why not just set up a recurring to-do list? Alarm goes off, take your pill and check the box. Then, if you forget you took it an hour later, you can look for your checkmark.
  Whether you do this all with your phone or with a good old fashioned clipboard and watch, is up to you.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
17. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 05:09 · Score: 1
  
  This is what I do. Having the checklist part automated would be handy.
  Who in the hell is going to carry around a clipboard and watch? How would a watch even help here? Unless it has multiple alarms, I won't even know to look at the damn thing.
18. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Sir_Sri · 2012-07-31 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  but aren't under the direct supervision of a nurse or other care giver.
  
  or who are, and they need to make sure that the next shift doesn't accidentally double dose, or miss a dose.
19. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by fm6 · 2012-07-31 05:23 · Score: 2
  
  I think your doctor needs to know whether you're taking your pills. When he asks, "Are you taking your pills?" do you answer "none of your business"? If you don't trust your doctor with that level of information, why even see him?
  And for many patients, it's not even a privacy issue. Older patients with memory problems, for example.
20. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Jawnn · 2012-07-31 05:34 · Score: 2
  
  You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when. The idea of my doctor trying to make me ingest a sensor like I'm some sort of medical prisoner is more than a little creepy to me.
  You should wish that it was only your doctor keeping tabs on your compliance with his prescribed regimen. The real consumer for this data will be your insurance carrier. "Failure to comply" with prescribed treatment is grounds for termination of benefits.
21. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 05:35 · Score: 1
  
  Well, some people have so many meds they can't well carry them around, so the clipboard would stay with the meds. The watch you would presumably wear.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
22. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ceoyoyo · 2012-07-31 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  That's great. From a public health perspective, if you want to decide for yourself that you've had enough of your antibiotics, perhaps you shouldn't get them next time. Or if you have TB and aren't following the treatment schedule you should probably be quarantined. Or if you've agreed to the terms of a clinical trial and aren't following the medication schedule you should be bounced out of it.
  If you don't want to take your heart medication, nobody cares.
23. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  Nope. Straw Man perhaps, but I'm no expert at naming the fallacy. I just know that there's one there.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
24. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Lurker2288 · 2012-07-31 05:39 · Score: 2
  
  To be fair, there are plenty of medications a person might choose not to take as prescribed apart from antibiotics, but on the whole I agree with you. If there is some reason why you can't or aren't willing to take your medication as prescribed, then you should speak to your doctor about that and identify a course of treatment you are willing to comply with. Nonadherence to prescriptions is a major source of reduction in patient well-being and a drive of increased healthcare costs. If a simple technological solution to that is available, why not use it?
25. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ceoyoyo · 2012-07-31 05:40 · Score: 1
  
  It's not a silly idea, in the right context. Companies running drug trials will be all over this. Noncompliance is a huge problem and, worse, it's currently a nearly unmeasureable problem.
26. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by geminidomino · 2012-07-31 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  Who in the hell is going to carry around a clipboard and watch?
  
  What is this, 1912? The electronic gagetry to replace the "clipboard and watch" has been around so long that you get them for $20 at the checkout isle in the goddamn grocery store, FFS.
  And considering that we're talking about a friggin' dial-home pill here, one can't really play the luddite card.
27. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Dunbal · 2012-07-31 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  Not unrelated at all. In fact there have been many articles published on the topic.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
28. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by jklovanc · 2012-07-31 05:51 · Score: 1
  
  There are a few issues with your tin foil hat attitude;
  1. The system only works if there is an external sensor and it is turned on. If you don't want to have your Doctor monitor you then turn the sensor off.
  2. There are many people who forget to take their meds some times. Having an alarm go off every time I am supposed to take my meds is annoying if I have already done it. To me it would be useful to remind me when I forget.
  3. You "what's next" scenario is another invalid slippery slope argument. Sensors in pills have nothing to do with shock treatment; one definitely does not lead to the other
  4. It's not all about you. There are people in this world who need reminders, me for one, to take their medications. These people should not have a valuable tool denied them just because you don't like it. If you don't like it then don't use it.
29. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by dullblade · 2012-07-31 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, you will probably either pay more for medical insurance, or have it cancelled. As people (below) have pointed out, sometimes this tech could be a boon, like for those who are too sick or lack the ability to keep track of medications. On the other hand, given your rationality, you are the only one who can judge the cost / benefit on taking a drug which is causing side effects.
30. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by aaaaaaargh! · 2012-07-31 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  Reminds me of this.
31. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Aphonia · 2012-07-31 06:23 · Score: 1
  
  Most medical doctors are MD's (or something similar), not PhD's. If your local PhD in philosophy is prescribing you pills, chances are you shouldn't take them.
32. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Penurious+Penguin · 2012-07-31 06:24 · Score: 2
  
  So then, I hope you are only advocating the use of these chips exclusively in antibiotics, no? I might be able to remain civil if that's the case, but otherwise, you're mad. I'm just so sure that every Doctor who's ever prescribed Prozac or Ritalin to a child chose the perfect, ideal dose! Your methods should work great with pain-killers too. Yeah. Well, I sincerely hope you get a prescription for a strong laxative someday, someday when fascism has finally overtaken America and meds are no longer optional.
  
  --
  Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
33. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 06:27 · Score: 1
  
  I just use my smartphone, costs a little more than $20, but it works.
34. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by daenris · 2012-07-31 06:29 · Score: 2
  
  I wish there was a mod crazy option. You really think that any and every pharmacy that a person might get their prescription filled at -- most of which are commercial entities without ties to a hospital -- are going to individually put serial numbers on pills that link them to the person getting the prescription filled? I'll give you a hint, I've worked at a pharmacy and they definitely do not do this. Let alone track fingerprints. There is a bottle filled with pain killers on the shelf. When a prescription comes in, the pharmacist or pharmacy tech grabs that bottle, and counts out the number of pills prescribed into a new bottle, which is given to the customer.
  
  Now the pills might contain a serial number that ties them back to a specific batch, which would tie them to a pharmacy and they could pull up a log of customers who had prescriptions filled from that batch and narrow it down reasonably well (even to 1 person if that person was the only one who got a prescription filled from that batch) but there is no guarantee that it can be narrowed down to 1 specific person as there is no individual tracking information on the pills.
35. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by mcgrew · 2012-07-31 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when.
  If you're talking about heroin or crack, sure, go ahead. But if you underdose on antibiotics, that affects ME, because you're breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria. If you're not taking your Haldol or antidepressant, you might wind up walking into the path of my car.
  I don't think you've thought this out very well.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
36. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by CanHasDIY · 2012-07-31 06:35 · Score: 1
  
  You went to the doctor, and he prescribed the fix. TAKE THE FUCKING MEDICINE OR DONT GO AT ALL.
  Gee, I guess you're right; shame on me for doubting the omniscience of those who manage to (barely) pass the medical exams. /sarc
  
  Seriously, since when did the profession of "doctor" become elevated to the level of infallible god? Newsflash, Sparky: Doctors fuck up. *Some* Doctors prescribe medication based not on patient need, but on what the Big Pharma rep giving him his weekly BJ wants him to prescribe. I say this from personal experience of 13 years of suffering from gallbladder disease, having untold numbers of doctors sell untold numbers of useless pills to me, without running a single test. They are, for the most part (and again, based on my personal experience), nothing more than glorified drug dealers.
  
  Also worth noting, the majority of drugs dealt by doctors don't actually "fix" anything, so much as mask and/or treat the actual symptoms. "Fixing" your illness would be bad for their bottom line, i.e. no repeat business.
  
  We don't need assholes like you deciding they know better than a PhD. Half-course antibiotics breed shit like MRSI.
  Nice strawman, though poorly constructed - aside from pointing out the obvious, that medical doctors are not necessarily Ph.D. holders (Try M.D. or D.O.), were you aware that MRSA originated from within the medical community? Specifically, the national hospital system in England. Contrary to the fantasy you're positing here, a good portion of antibiotic resistant bacterium come from lazy doctors and hospital staff, not patients. Hence the reason you're more likely to die from a secondary infection while at the hospital, than what put you there to begin with.
  
  Pain meds are different, I'll admit that... but you didn't specify what you're talking about and if you ahve that kind of attitude for one medication, you likely have it for another.
  Idiots are going to fail to complete their antibiotic dosage regardless of whether or not you track them, so what good will it do? When facing a pandemic, what good is it to know who's to blame, when we should be focusing on the solution? Seems counterproductive to me.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
37. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by CanHasDIY · 2012-07-31 06:49 · Score: 1
  
  This is going to be used for the elderly and those who have medicine without which is it hard or impossible to remember to take or why to take your medicine.
  This is the only reasonable use of the technology I can think of... which is why it probably won't be used in such a manner.
  
  OTOH, my 86-year-old grandfather, who suffers from memory issues (as well as many other maladies common to men his age), and yet the age old "Su-M-T-W-Th-F-Sa" pill box technology has served him for decades without failure... a solution looking for a problem, perhaps?
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
38. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Flaming+Babies · 2012-07-31 06:52 · Score: 1
  
  It's not a silly idea, in the right context. Companies running drug trials will be all over this. Noncompliance is a huge problem and, worse, it's currently a nearly unmeasureable problem.
  In the right context, everything is silly. What was your second point?
  
  --
  The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
39. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 07:07 · Score: 1
  
  (Like antibiotics against bacteria. Which every idiot knows you take until the end. [Apparently except for the retards around you.])
  Seriously, have you ever met any human being at all? Anywhere? You've never known someone who took antibiotics off schedule? Who stopped taking them early? Who demanded antibiotics from their doctor despite having a viral condition? Fuck sakes, there's a non-trivial portion of the world population who is stupid, and who do fuck things up for the rest of us. 'tis life.
40. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by MightyYar · 2012-07-31 07:24 · Score: 1
  
  Even if you think that the drug market should opened up, insurance fraud is a problem that drives all of our costs up.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
41. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by SGDarkKnight · 2012-07-31 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  well, i would have to agree with you on this one. My old doctor that I use to go to was a huge pill pusher. I mean, he had pills for everything, and on more than one occasion, the pills he was giving out, turned out to have some major "unknown" side effects and got recalled. Thankfully, I didn't take any of them.
  I'm sure my old family doctor wasn't the only one who was a pill pusher. So if it happened a couple of times to me, I'm sure it's happened to many others.
  
  --
  
  ...A no smoking section in a restaurant is like having a no peeing section in a swimming pool...
42. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by mcgrew · 2012-07-31 08:08 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Prior to Carter, the mentally ill were basically tucked away out of sight in asylums. Then they invented effective anti-psychotic medication, and so it became possible to treat the mentally ill. Of course, a treated mentally ill person does not need to be tucked away in an asylum anymore, so they were released... and a significant portion stopped taking their medication.
  Either your history is faulty, or my memory is. Reagan is the one who freed the nutballs, and it was before many of the modern tretments came about, but long after Haldol (invented in 1958), a treatment for schitzophrenia and psychosis.
  When they let the crazies out, they weren't treating them! I knew one such fellow with schitzophrenia, crazy as a loon, unable to hold a job or have any kind of normal life, on drugs, and lived on the government dole. He finally got treatment (Haldol), and the last time I saw him he had a job, a girlfriend, had given up the drugs (many mentally ill people are on illegal drugs because if their illnesses, and the medical community insists that the drugs cause the illness) and was an election judge!
  Note that Haldol is injected once a month, the patient does not medicate himself.
  We treat the mentally ill badly in this country. Very badly. I know one woman who had an incredibly bad childhood, had clinical depression since her teen years, started on drugs as a young adult, and her "treatment" always consisted of putting her in a drug treatment facility, again on the stupid assumption that the drugs caused her illness, rather than the other way around, despite the fact that the illness came first! She finally got some good help, is now on Paxil and off the illegal drugs. But those two are the exceptions to the rule, most mentally ill people get no help whatever.
  Thise homeless bugging you for spare change? Most of them have mental problems and could be useful members of society if they had access to treatment.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
43. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by CheshireDragon · 2012-07-31 08:19 · Score: 2
  
  I usually get hydrocodones(10/325) to be exact for when my kidney decides to develop stones and then another bottle after the Lithotripsy procedure. A couple other times when I had some teeth pulled. I also currently take Adderall(10mg) for my ADHD. The ONLY thing that the pharmacist does, since they are controlled substances, is write down my name, address and the time they were picked up on some log sheet. I can only assume that the log they have is for some kind of tracking purpose. Any other ideas? I know they are not going to come to my door and and ask if I have been taking them properly. IF I OD and die they can trace it back to the pharmacy, then the DR, and ask if I was prescribed them or if I forged the script. After that I am on to a statistical database...
  
  --
  "That's right...I said it."
44. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ethanms · 2012-07-31 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  You know, I kind of like the idea of deciding for myself what medication I take and when. The idea of my doctor trying to make me ingest a sensor like I'm some sort of medical prisoner is more than a little creepy to me. What's next, is he going to give me forced ball-shock treatments if I refuse to eat healthy?
  It's ridiculous if it's for high blood pressure or allergies... but not so ridiculous when you're a schizophrenic or someone else with a mental disorder that may put them into a state where they could be a danger to themselves or others.
  It could be the difference between forced institutionalization and being able to live with more freedom in a group home. It could also be used for making sure that people who have been convicted of a crime related to their disorder remain compliant with a court ordered drug regime.
  Very useful for elderly and border-line Alzheimer patients who may simply forget to take their meds. They may have their own scanner to check to see "did I take that pill today or not?"--right now many rely on 7-day pill containers, but those are hardly fool proof.
  Bottom line is that for a mentally healthy individual this would probably come to down a matter of convenience in checking yourself to see if you took a certain pill that day or not.
45. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ethanms · 2012-07-31 08:56 · Score: 1
  
  I can also see this being useful in hospitals as a double-check that the correct medications have been administered orally. The medical aid comes by, takes your vitals and a quick scan of pills taken... it might detect mistakes before you become ill from them.
46. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ethanms · 2012-07-31 08:59 · Score: 1
  
  Some pills yes, other pills no.
  I took Singulair for a time due to cat allergies, those were given to me at my local pharmacy in a sealed Merk container.
47. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ceoyoyo · 2012-07-31 09:31 · Score: 1
  
  It's only a silly idea if it's silly in all contexts. What was your second sentence about?
48. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by izomiac · 2012-07-31 10:09 · Score: 1
  
  Most people do not take medication 100% of the time. We're human and it's easy to forget. But, when the doctor asks, it's difficult to quantify and embarrassing to admit. You're free to disregard your doctor's advice, but most people would prefer their doctor have accurate information before giving that advice.
  
  For example, if you don't take your diabetes medication regularly, your blood sugar won't be well regulated. With this technology, it becomes obvious that it's a compliance issue rather than an insulin resistance issue. You now know it's a problem, and your doctor will suggest ways to remember to take your medicine rather than increasing the dose (potentially very dangerous).
  
  For controlled medications, it becomes easier to tell if someone is selling their painkillers on the street. Differentiating drug abuse from under-treated pain also becomes easier. ("You ran out early, I see you took 8 pills at a time and blew through your supply in a week." VS "You ran out early, I see that you've been taking them every 3 hours, so we need to switch to a longer acting form.")
49. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by ski9826 · 2012-07-31 10:36 · Score: 1
  
  Think about it this way: You receive heavy narcotics for some supposed chronic pain that you have. But instead of taking the pills, you sell them (this can create quite the residual income for you). Your insurance or medicaid/care pays for the pills, and you also sign a contract with your doctor saying that you will take the medication as prescribed. Selling the pills, or taking them all in one day is a violation of said contract as well as an unnecessary drain on the healthcare system (be it private or government). Currently, the only way to check to see if you are taking them as prescribed, is when you come in to see the doctor, they take your blood and see if there is a level of the drug in your system (easily bypassed by selling all your pills and then saving one for the day of your doctor visit) - this system would negate that process. I think it's a good idea. They're obviously not going to put this in your Ibuprofin 800mg tablets to make sure that you're taking them, this will be for narcotics and possibly anti-psychotic medications to ensure that they are being used properly.
50. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by mrmeval · 2012-07-31 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  Having had to take a blizzard of pills if there's a way to shriek at me when I don't I'll gladly take it. I, all puffed up with hubris and invulnerability, would question an older pill popper as to why they could not remember to take their pill. Now that I am in that position and with an affliction that causes short term memory loss and other symptoms I know I need the nudge to do what is right. As long as there is no forced medication I'm cool with this. I am of the opinion that any system that forces medication or medical treatment should be met with enough force to stop it.
  
  --
  I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
51. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 13:34 · Score: 1
  
  "If you don't trust your doctor with that level of information, why even see him?"
  A lot of doctors suck, and if medication wasn't by prescription only, we'd skip the visit entirely.
  In the U.S., the government won't let me just order most #$@ medications on my own. I have a hyperthyroid condition, and the medication adjustments aren't rocket science.
  TSH, Free T3/Free T4, and I CAN order the blood work on my own, but I can only get the anti-thyroid medication from a specialist doctor that hassles me every visit because I refuse to take one of the 2 treatment options that would guarantee her a patient for life as a hypothyroid patient with an incredibly crappy quality of life, instead of being hyperthyroid with periodic remissions where I'm free from medication for years at a time.
52. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 14:46 · Score: 1
  
  Yes as I've pointed out before this will in the end be used to strong-arm people into accepting prescription drugs under the
  pretext of prophylaxis by making the use mandatory under their health insurance plans. With these sensors it is easy to tell
  who is using what medications as well as who is avoiding them.
  Personally I think the idea is as stupid as FUCK, Mr. Astor, Mr. Dupont and all the rest of you parasites along with their 2nd/3rd/4th tier bootlickers.
  Sorry if I put it so blunt but statins and all those other drugs you push onto the population cause major ill effects that are just too noticeable.
  Muscle pains, soreness, shortness of breath and appreciably diminished sex drive are just a few items from a long, long list
  of symptoms. If you plan on forcing people to take these things you virtually guarantee yourselves a vast amount of opposition
  despite whatever sanction your advisers come up with.
  Rats don't eat poison unless you force it through their jaws down their throats and there are limits to human stupidity as well,
  as incredible as that may sound. The wise thing is to accept that medications and vaccines will not reach everyone and should not be
  thought of at all as a means to address the more intelligent and more aware. This class of resistant individuals could be dealt
  with far more effectively through other means. You're doing a good job on the gullible cattle, how wise is it to upset the rest of
  the herd that still has some mental capacity left?
  Those cattle that answer with dumb comments to what I'm writing, I offer their (worthless) hides to you :-)
53. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by NFN_NLN · 2012-07-31 15:43 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah. Well, I sincerely hope you get a prescription for a strong laxative someday...
  Well... If you don't take your full dose of Moviprep then you won't be properly cleaned out. And if the colonoscopy isn't conclusive then you waste the Doctors time which he could have spent with patients that DID take their full dose.
  -Prescribed medication that requires taking to completion - Check
  -Not an antibiotic - Check
  -Being prescribed a strong laxative - Check
  Check and Mate, Hahahhahaha :)
54. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by h4rr4r · 2012-08-01 00:57 · Score: 1
  
  Those boxes are only really suitable for once a day pill dosages. I say that as someone who uses one. I find alarms far more useful.
55. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by MightyYar · 2012-08-01 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  My timeline might be slightly off - Carter, Reagan... point is - late 70s, early 80s.
  The treatment options available to the destitute vary from state to state. But in general I agree with your assessment that we need to do more. Part of the difficulty, however, is in getting people to stay on their meds... which brings us back to the topic at hand: I think that a cheap way for a doctor to monitor the medication history of a patient could significantly improve treatment in general and relieve some of the stress on our public health system.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
56. Re:Am I the only one that finds this creepy? by Ariyan · 2012-08-01 14:38 · Score: 1
  
  I find it creepy also; but can the microchips be tracked? One problem that I see with this idea is that: if the pills that contain the "microchips" can be injested [which are injested according to the article] into the body then how do the microchips leave the body?
Circumventable? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 04:26 · Score: 1

Er, would dipping said chip in a pool of saliva accomplish the same feat?
1. Re:Circumventable? by ananyo · 2012-07-31 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  Er, would dipping said chip in a pool of saliva accomplish the same feat?
  No. Sounds like you need stomach acid to activate.
2. Re:Circumventable? by Bananatree3 · 2012-07-31 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  a bit of lemon juice and a swish in the mouth should take care of it.
3. Re:Circumventable? by SJHillman · 2012-07-31 04:38 · Score: 1
  
  At that point, the effort to fool it exceeds the effort to take the pills. There will always be people who will work harder to avoid work than to just do the work in the first place but I think most of these people just don't want to be bothered to remember to take the pill more than anything else.
4. Re:Circumventable? by jklovanc · 2012-07-31 06:03 · Score: 1
  
  This is not designed to force people to take drugs but to see how people are actually taking their drugs. People forget things for different reasons and it is great to have a solid reminder when to take meds. Sure, one could use multiple alarms but they get annoying when one has already taken that dose. I would much prefer an alarm that went off only when I forget and this technology will facilitate that. Pill boxes are great but one must still remember to take the pills.
5. Re:Circumventable? by ethanms · 2012-07-31 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  At that point, the effort to fool it exceeds the effort to take the pills.
  Some of us don't want to take the pills....... wwweeeee!!! the colors!
False Negative? by NFN_NLN · 2012-07-31 04:26 · Score: 5, Interesting

So what happens when there is a false negative?
Dr: Did you take your pill?
P: Yes
Dr: The pill didn't register; are you sure you didn't forget? You better take another one.
1. Re:False Negative? by Antony+T+Curtis · 2012-07-31 04:34 · Score: 2
  
  I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over.
  
  --
  No sig. Move along - nothing to see here.
2. Re:False Negative? by Hentes · 2012-07-31 04:47 · Score: 1
  
  Which is why their efficacy was tested before approval.
3. Re:False Negative? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 05:01 · Score: 1
  
  Then don't end up on parole?
  Parole is instead of being in jail, right now for that sort of thing they use urine or blood tests. I fail to see how this is any different.
4. Re:False Negative? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 05:28 · Score: 1
  
  So then don't take the medicine?
  I fail to see how this matters on bit then.
  This is just another option for testing compliance for medicine. Paroles are already piss tested to ensure they are not taking illegal drugs and can also be tested for required ones.
5. Re:False Negative? by h4rr4r · 2012-07-31 05:33 · Score: 1
  
  If that was the standard then you would be complaining people died because drugs were not approved fast enough.
6. Re:False Negative? by jklovanc · 2012-07-31 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  That is not a problem with the doctor and not the pill. If my doctor did not believe what I told him I would find another doctor.
Micro chips or RFID tags? by Kenja · 2012-07-31 04:26 · Score: 2

Doesn't sound like they're talking about microchips in the manor many of us would assume when hearing the phrase ""digestible microchips". These sound more like RFID chips that derive their power from stomach acid rather then radio signals.

--

"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Uh oh by Antipater · 2012-07-31 04:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

Next they'll be creating "parent-friendly" vegetables that tell you when your kid is slipping them to the dog under the table.

--
Everything is better with chainsaws.
1. Re:Uh oh by SJHillman · 2012-07-31 04:39 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not a parent yet, but I'm hoping by the time I am they come up with a pill that will turn your skin bright purple if you don't eat enough vegetables.
2. Re:Uh oh by Dunbal · 2012-07-31 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  If you rely on a pill for that then you are probably a terrible parent.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
3. Re:Uh oh by Sir_Sri · 2012-07-31 05:22 · Score: 1
  
  That would make for an interesting 2020 or 2030 US census. Race: Purple 95%. Blue: 5% (people who are Red Green colourblind)
4. Re:Uh oh by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, parents should be able to turn their children bright purple without the help of a pill.
Mom! I Swallowed A Microchip! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-07-31 04:43 · Score: 5, Funny

I used to have a stomach virus, but now I have a COMPUTER VIRUS! :-)

--
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Definitely can be helpful under right conditions by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 04:47 · Score: 3, Interesting

As someone who has an elderly parent who does not take her medication properly and then fibs to the doctor, this would be very helpful. Also, for patients with memory issues, also very helpful. As long as it is an optional item, I don't see anything wrong with this. If you don't wish for the medication to be monitored, then that's something that should be your choice. I would also think the more delicate or severe the problem being addressed, the more it should be suggested and used. My grandmother would forget her medication and take it too much, causing extremely low blood pressure, and this could have helped.
intellectual property by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 04:50 · Score: 1

I heard qualcomm pushing this a few years ago. The guy was candid that the big win for this was to extend the IP protections on drugs. 2 immediate impacts - the code transmitted is copyrighted and protectable longer than patent. No more patent cliff issues. Secondly, this is meant to fight fake drugs / illegal copies ... think Indian pharma.
This is not for wellness or drug efficacy. That's a canard.
1. Re:intellectual property by Belial6 · 2012-07-31 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  I don't see how this would extend the protection on the drug itself. If my doctor presents me with the choice of $1500 for a cycle of name brand medicine with chips embedded or $50 for generic that will cure the disease but won't let me monitor how often I take the pill with my cell phone, the choice becomes pretty obvious.
2. Re:intellectual property by sFurbo · 2012-07-31 22:46 · Score: 1
  
  The code can't be copyrighted, it is not a product of creativity. If a knock-off pill was given to me by my doctor after the original patent has run out, why wouldn't the knock-off contain an equivalent chip? You are right that it helps against illegal copies, but that is a good thing for the patient. If it is an illegal copy, why would it contain the active ingredient?
Re:HMO cellphones that can track what you eat? by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 05:14 · Score: 1

Totally unrelated to any of this.
"Downvotes, plz"

--
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Re:Do not want.... by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 05:17 · Score: 1

The reason? The reason is you think you know better than a professional?
If your not going to listen, why did you go in the first place?

--
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Correct me if I am wrong... by gagol · 2012-07-31 05:26 · Score: 1

The pill sends a signal to a patch that then transmit a wireless signal to your smartphone who then sends the info to your doctor. Cheating this system would be laughably easy, one only need to replicate the patch signal... Also, dont we have more urgent problems to solve than this? It reflects the trend of controlling each and every aspect of our lives more and more. That trend is much more scarier than the tracking technologies such as this one.

--
Tomorrow is another day...
1. Re:Correct me if I am wrong... by dalias · 2012-07-31 11:43 · Score: 1
  
  Cheating the system should be as simple as throwing up and then dissolving the pill in your vomit next to the sensor.
Re:Do not want.... by MitchDev · 2012-07-31 05:33 · Score: 1

Some doctors are good, others are just profit-centers for Big Pharma... Why find a cure, there's no profit on that. Getting them stuck on your meds for the rest of their lives on the other hand...
Diverticulitis by ThatsNotPudding · 2012-07-31 05:33 · Score: 1

How do these little wonders not end up in all our Western World intestinal pouches and stay there permanently? Or for that matter, take a right at the appendix?
Wi-Fi by ThatsNotPudding · 2012-07-31 05:40 · Score: 2

Take enough of these, and we finally will be susceptable to Wi-Fi fields!
As Mr. Mackey says "Drugs are bad, mkay?" by BetaDays · 2012-07-31 05:45 · Score: 1

As Mr. Mackey says "Drugs are bad, mkay?"

http://youtu.be/2JWDmnWjsvo

--
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
Re:Science Marches On by mcgrew · 2012-07-31 05:55 · Score: 2

I have an eye implant powered by my eye's focusing muscles. I'm 60 and have better than 20/20 vision at all distances! Science (and technology) do indeed march on. BTW, my implant is the favorite of all devices I own; I used to be 20/400 before the implant.
And the tricorders are coming closer and closer as welll. Now if they'd invent a matter replicator...

--
Free Martian Whores!
Harder to pretend to take medicine by brickmack · 2012-07-31 06:01 · Score: 1

This will probably be used by parents and mental hospitals to make sure people take their medicine, instead of spittin it back out when they look away. Wonderful.
Like, wow, man . . . this is so THX-1138 . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2012-07-31 06:01 · Score: 1

Where George Lucas made a non-cutie, non-family "film" (not "moive") about Robert Duval getting busted for "Criminal Drug Evasion" for not taking his happy pill calm the masses downers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THX-1138
"If you feel you are not properly sedated, call 348-844 immediately. Failure to do so may result in prosecution for criminal drug evasion."
"You are a true believer. Blessings of the state, blessings of the masses. Thou art a subject of the divine. Created in the image of man, by the masses, for the masses."
"Let us be thankful we have an occupation to fill. Work hard; increase production, prevent accidents, and be happy."
"Let us be thankful we have commerce. Buy more. Buy more now. Buy more and be happy."

--
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Unintended Consequences by datsa · 2012-07-31 06:02 · Score: 1

Am I the only one here who remembers the scene in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest where the hero pretends to swallow his daily sedative and then slyly spits it out? The movie would have been a lot shorter if this technology was around then...
This idea makes some sense with antibiotics, but once you get into psychiatric medicine it's downright scary.
Mmmmmmm by cstacy · 2012-07-31 06:02 · Score: 1

Mmmmmm.....pork...chips
I kind of don't like by publiclurker · 2012-07-31 06:29 · Score: 1

having to deal with mental patients who are off their meds and drug resistant bacteria created by self important morons who feel that their self-serving opinions are better than the lives of everyone around them.
Pink Floyd Reference by trevc · 2012-07-31 06:34 · Score: 2

If you don't eat your meds, you can't have any pudding!
That charge has an effect by jago25_98 · 2012-07-31 07:06 · Score: 1

That small electrical charge isn't going to make a big impact but... it does have an effect.
When breeding Kefir the charge from just a piece of metal is enough to kill it. Likewise, a charge from copper is enough to deter slugs (I don't think it's the slipperyness). Also, in my own accidental double blind experiment (which will remain nameless) I found that electrical charge in the body is what I believe the lowest hanging fruit for scientific study.
So I think the pill will kill off natural fauna in the gut, possibly making way for other microbes.
I wish I had some literature to back me up on that.
Most of the applications at the moment are bad news. Hopefully we might see an unintended positive use for it.

--
A blog I run for the wealth
Not the first ingestible, but the first digestible by proggoddess · 2012-07-31 07:27 · Score: 1

The article is slightly wrong. There are plenty of devices that are ingestible (able to be swallowed) but non-digestible (unable to be broken down into smaller parts). Several companies make capsules that take pictures, measure pH, transit time, etc. and are FDA-cleared. This is probably the first one that is electrically powered that is also digestible.

--
--The Programming goddess from Gorflaz
Overdose by k31bang · 2012-07-31 10:38 · Score: 1

When swallowed, it generates a slight voltage in response to digestive juices, which conveys a signal to the surface of a person's skin where a patch then relays the information to a mobile phone belonging to a healthcare-provider.

So what kills you first when you OD? The voltage OD or the drug OD?

--
-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+ *** http://www.mountainfort.com *** +-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-
Re:my pain is not constantly terrible by X0563511 · 2012-07-31 11:49 · Score: 1

"Pain meds are different, I'll admit that... but you didn't specify what you're talking about and if you ahve that kind of attitude for one medication, you likely have it for another."
Guess you missed that?

--
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Re:Science Marches On by slashmydots · 2012-07-31 14:29 · Score: 1

Also, TFA says they even come in sour cream and onion flavor! Now those are some good chips!
Insurance companies, lawyers, rejoice! by fygment · 2012-08-01 00:13 · Score: 1

Plaintiff: The drugs had undocumented side-effects that have left me paralyzed from the neck down.
Lawyers for the Defence: Your honour, we have documented proof that the plaintiff did not adhere strictly to the dosage regimen specified. If the medication had been taken properly, the "side-effects" would not have manifested.
Some good may come off this ... and very much bad.

--
"Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
what i really need to know is by KingBenny · 2012-08-01 09:32 · Score: 1

how to scan for the presence of these things ... they could be anywhere ... like clothes hangers multiplying when you don't look in your closet for a day or two

--
Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?
thanks, Mr. Goldberg by gzuckier · 2012-08-01 09:59 · Score: 1

They already have pill bottle caps which keep tabs of how many times they are opened; and of course, the doctors can always just check whether you're buying your prescriptions on schedule. Which they already do. Because if you're motivated enough to evade your prescriptions by buying the drugs, opening the bottle, and putting the pills down the toilet, you're not going to be stopped by the need to stick the patch on a glass of carbonated or other acidic beverage and drop the pill in there so it generates the appropriate signal.

--
Star Trek transporters are just 3d printers.
Because we want to make sure that you are by ToddInSF · 2012-08-01 20:00 · Score: 1

actually taking our dangerous, new, poorly tested drugs.

It guarantees "compliance", after all, and doctors and HMO's have an inherent right to coerce you into it, by any means necessary.