I guess Patient Check in and tracking won't be that difficult after all

VeriChip Says Implantable RFID Chips Safe for Humans


VeriChip on Tuesday said that it would thoroughly review reports from an Associated Press article that linked its microchips with cancer in lab rats and mice, the South Florida Business Journal reports. The company also reiterated that its chips are FDA-approved (South Florida Business Journal, 9/11). The chips allow hospital staff members to access a code and go online to open a patient's medical profile, which is stored on VeriChip's database for an annual fee (iHealthBeat, 9/10).After the AP story was published, VeriChip's stock dropped by 62 cents on Monday, and VeriChip's parent company, Applied Digital Solutions, also saw its stock fall to a new low on Monday. Shares for both companies also continued to decline on Tuesday (South Florida Business Journal, 9/11). VeriChip and federal regulators said the animal data had been included in the review of the application to implant chips in humans, but there are no controlled scientific studies linking the chips to cancer in dogs or cats. They added that lab rodents are more prone than humans or other animals to developing tumors from all types of injections (Feder, New York Times, 9/11).About 2,000 people nationwide have been implanted with VeriChip's radio frequency identification technology chips (iHealthBeat, 9/10)."At this time there appears to be no credible cause for concern," Karen Riley, FDA spokesperson, said.Since learning of the article, VeriChip said that it has found studies from its own manufacturer that conclude microchip implants do not cause malignant tumors. The company also noted that the article and research made no link between microchips and cancer in humans (South Florida Business Journal, 9/11).

Source : ihealthbeat