Alien Implant Technology Enters Commercial World

And they're using it to track patient medical data. Now, keep in mind, the RFIDs in this article are passive - they aren't constantly broadcasting your information (that's why they last indefinitely - no need for a battery). You need an RFID transceiver to read the device, and even then all you get is a number. That number means nothing unless you have access to a database. It's kind of like a cookie, with many of the same security concerns. If you can select what data to associate with your VeriChip's code, patients might elect to just include basic information like drug allergies and any special medical conditions like diabetes, hemophelia, or situs inversus.

Doctors and hospitals will love this technology. It will help reduce medical errors and make it faster and easier to collect patient information in an emergency. Patients may be harder to convince. But honestly, I think price is more likely to hold it back than privacy concerns or fear of technology. But that price will go down over time. Look for these little guys to be standard issue to hospital patients, including newborn babies, in 20 years. Little yellow bracelet? Meet subdermal computer chip.