Chip shot If that HIPAA form you have to sign every time you see your doctor makes you uneasy about who's got access to your medical records, I've got some bad news for you: VeriChip is back. And now the company's executives have found a way to get more support for their privacy-invading device -- by preying on the fears of people with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer's disease. They claim that their plans to implant 200 Alzheimer's patients with the microchip will give "peace of mind to the families of Alzheimer's patients by providing a safety net in case a patient should get lost." This so-called "safety net" comes from the fact that these patients will be easily identifiable by anyone who has the right technology to scan the VeriChip. But not only will scanning it retrieve the person's 16-digit identification number (as if reducing Alzheimer's patients to their ID number isn't chilling enough on its own), it will also enable the person doing the scanning to enter that number into a database to retrieve the patient's private medical records. In an ideal world, the only people who would have access to VeriChip scanning technology would be doctors and other medical professionals. But I think we both know we're living in a world that's far from ideal. And when a 17-year-old can, in a matter of weeks, recreate technology for an iPhone that took Apple techies years to develop, it's not such a stretch to wonder how long it will take for your average hacker to come up with black-market VeriChip scanning devices. Not only would this completely strip Alzheimer's patients of any semblance of medical privacy they still have, but it would also put them at much higher risk for identity theft. (After all, the details of your last check-up aren't the only pieces of information stored in the VeriChip database -- it will also inevitably contain your social security number and other personal data necessary for these criminals to easily take what isn't rightfully theirs.) It's despicable that VeriChip executives would use such a devastating condition to garner support for a device that the public has not embraced for the very reasons I outlined above. While they assert that participation has been 100-percent voluntary, I'm not sure how clearly these volunteers went into their decision-making process -- not only due to their condition itself, but also due to the overwhelming feelings of hopelessness many Alzheimer's patients feel. So now they either forfeit their medical privacy or face constant worry that they will become a burden to their loved ones. Basically, VeriChip has put these 200 patients in a no-win situation. But it's one in which you can still come out victorious. Regardless of whether or not you have Alzheimer's, and regardless of VeriChip's next marketing ploy, you don't need to submit to having one of these devices implanted into your body. You're much better off sticking with a low-cost medical ID bracelet that indicates any must-know allergies or conditions in case of emergency, and a card in your wallet with your blood type. The rest of your information is no one else's business but yours. Source: "Microchipping of Alzheimer's patients begins in Florida," NewsTarget (www.newstarget.com), 9/14/07 | 
