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May 21, 2008, 5:13 pm
Flag as Inappropriate skatss  

I read an article the other day that said that there is a chip now being offered that has a person's full medical history on it. Now if they are in an accident, the EMS workers or hospital staff can use an instrument to read the chip and so know what to do to help.

My sister is supposed to wear a medical bracelet or necklace to warn EMS workers that she has diabetes and cancer so that if she is in an accident or if she calls for help and can't talk, her bracelet has her information or a number they can call to get her history.

I asked her if she would get a chip implanted that would give the same information and she isn't sure she wants it.

I'm not sure I would have it done either if I needed it.

Would anyone here be implanted with an electronic chip to let emergency workers or doctors in a hospital know what their medical needs are?

No way. I've read WAY too many sci-fi novels to be implanted with a chip. That, and there are lots of problems with the chips they implant in dogs and cats now. They can roam through the body, get imbedded where they shouldn't be. No, I'll stick with medical alert bracelets if needed.

While it sounds like a relatively good idea, I don't think I am ready to take that step yet. Computers and electronic devices are never 100 percent guaranteed. If they put the wrong info on your bracelet you could see the mistake and have it corrected, if its on a chip, no one would know till after the give you the wrong treatment.

It does sound like a relatively good idea, convenient for health care individuals, but it all seems too 1984 for me. I mean, a bracelet is one thing - it can be removed - the chip cannot. What if the information had gotten into the wrong hands?

Alternatively, a bracelet could fall off - the chip could hold the information and not be lost.

It could go either way, if done right, it could be a great idea.

I would not get a chip no, no matter what critical health condition I had. Quite apart from the conspiracy theories out there, the test study showed a strong correlation with an increase in cancer at the site of implant.

I'm all for a fan of technology but what if you are out camping and the only thing available is some country Dr or hospital? Unless everyone had something to read them they would be useless.

I would also want to be able to access the chip myself to verify data and add anything that needed to be added.

Chris

No way would I allow them to insert a foreign object in my body. The body would naturally try to attack the chip causing unnecessary white cells. It's just to crazy for me. Also, I complain enough about being treated like an assembly line product while at the doctors..this only affirms it in my books.

Annie-that is part of why there are problems with this technology. It's the same as anything else-eventually the item may be rejected by the body. Not for me either.

Sounds crazy. I don't intend on doing anything bad but NO WAY!