[BCVHFA] The FDA Lets The Microchip Genie Out Of The Bottle

[K8CM]

Following is an article running in a trade publication (INTERNETWEEK 
NEWSLETTER)
  that I receive.

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0. The FDA Lets The Microchip Genie Out Of The Bottle

One sunny afternoon, you head to the park with your
family. Your dog Spot comes too. One thing leads to another
and soon you're tossing around a tennis ball covered with
dog spit and having a good time doing it. You give it a
long heave, Spot dashes into the bushes after it, and you
figure he'll be a few minutes so you turn to watch your
kids play.

Five minutes pass and Spot doesn't return. You look
around, you call for him, but no Spot. You trot around the
perimeter of the park, asking if anyone has seen him, but
still no Spot. When you enlist your kids to help with the
search they become hysterical and that's when you realize
Spot isn't wearing his collar -- one of your kids took it
off last night.

After two hours of searching, you call animal control and
several shelters looking for Spot. Feeling both dumb and
dismayed, you confirm that no, Spot was not wearing a
collar or tags and yes, he is a medium-sized, brownish-
blackish dog of no particular breed.

Then you take the family home, create a flyer with an old
photo of Spot, stop at Kinko's, and return to distribute
copies across a four block-area around the park. Then you
wait and hope.

Unable to sleep, you're still awake later that night when
the animal control department from a neighboring city
calls. After confirming your identity, they announce that
they have Spot. Though dirty and tired, he's fine. How did
they know Spot was your dog? Simple really, Spot had a
microchip.

A scenario like this is marketing nirvana for microchip
vendors. Animal shelters, law enforcement, and vet offices
can scan pets implanted with radio-frequency identification
(RFID) microchips -- like a can of green beans at the
supper market. The chip has an ID number that is linked to
a database with pet and owner information. Microchips are
approximately the size of a grain of rice and take seconds
to implant. Most vets charge around $50.

What's good for Spot may be good for Spot's owner. At
least that's what the FDA has decided. The regulatory
agency has approved the first RFID chip for humans. The
raison d'être, is that these chips will make medical care
safer and more efficient. Let's say you're knocked
unconscious. Your friends bring you to the hospital. The
doctors and medical staff need to know if you have a
pacemaker, a penicillin allergy, or a steel plate in your
head. But you can't tell them and your friends aren't sure.
So they scan you and, just like that, they can access your
medical records -- no confusion, no misidentification.

Within a hospital setting, there's some substantial
upside, but what about outside? These chips can't be read
from very far away, so no one could scan you as you walked
down the street and learn about your prescription history.
At least that's what advocates say. That said, once chips
are implanted in people's triceps, there will be some
bottles missing their genies.

The RFID chip gives each person a unique identifier; it
can be associated with any type of information -- for
instance, your financial data. And given proper motivation,
it won't be long before someone figures out how to scan the
chips from across the street or even further way. No chips
for me, that's for sure.

Enjoy the weekend. Talk to you again on Monday.

Benjamin Tomkins, btomkins at cmp.com
Editor, InternetWeek