Implanted Micro Chips Ends The Need For Medical Charts
Pastor Dale Morgan
Implanted Micro Chips Ends The Need For Medical Charts*
NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2007(CBS) A patient's medical history is one of the
most important tools a doctor can have. More than 300 Americans have
chosen a new way to make their information available in a heartbeat.
Medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay stopped by Thursday's The Early
Show to discuss Verichip, a new way to ensure that your doctor will
always have your medical information.
Verichip is a small electronic chip, the size of a piece of rice, that
gets injected into your upper arm.
Hospital personnel can run a scanner over the embedded Verichip and by
using an ID number in the chip, they can see your medical history
instantly. They can also see what medications you are taking, dosages,
allergies, blood type, the name of your doctor, and any medical
procedures you've undergone.
Dr. Joseph Feldman, head of the Emergency Department at Hackensack
University Medical Center in New Jersey, believes that patients with the
greatest needs are the ones the chip will help the most. "Our sickest
patients are usually unconscious or have altered mental status or are
unable to communicate because they're in too much pain or anxiety," he said.
The Verichip uses the same technology that lets motorists pay tolls
without stopping, as well as the same chip that helps control inventory
at retail stores.
Some people are concerned that Verichip could be an invasion of privacy.
Privacy expert Marc Rosenberg worries that scanners at retail stores and
toll booths will also have the power to read the chips in patients' arms.
"They do literally broadcast your identity," he said. "It's a bit like
having your Social Security number being transmitted from your body."
But Verichip patient Molly Minicucci Phillips isn't concerned about the
privacy issue. "I have credit cards. I have EZ-Pass. I have all that,"
he said. "They probably could get more through that than from the Verichip."