A tiny ID microchip that can be implanted in the human body, and then used to identify patients and enable their key medical information to be accessed securely, is to be launched globally at the beginning of May.
The VeriChip, is a miniaturised, implantable radio frequency identification device (RFID), about the size of a grain of rice, that can be used in a variety of security, emergency and healthcare applications.
Advanced Digital Solutions, Verichip’s parent company, claims that the ID chip offers an effective way for doctors to identify patients who are unable to identify themselves because they are either unconscious or dead.
However, the ID chip has raised concerns among some civil liberties groups concerned that the device could be used to track individuals remotely. The US Food and Drug Administration earlier this month said it did not consider the ID chip to be a regulated medical device, enabling the company to begin sales, marketing and distribution of VeriChip in the United States.
While the FDA did not approve storing medical information on the chip the device’s ID can be cross-referenced with a computer database holding the patient’s records.
Following the FDA finding ADS, has announced that it will launch its new Global VeriChip Subscriber (GVS) Registry service on 1 May.
The individual’s unique number is captured by briefly passing an external scanner over the VeriChip, which causes a small amount of radio frequency energy to pass through the skin waking the dormant VeriChip, which then emits a radio frequency signal transmitting the unique verification number.
The ID number in each chip then provides secure access to the GVS Registry Service, on which subscribers will be able to securely store personal healthcare information. Patient data is encrypted to 128 bits and then displayed on the reader.
ADS says only information authorised by the subscriber will be available for access via VeriChip’s scanner.
The system could provide Instant access to such vital information as allergies to medications, medical device implants, pre-existing medical conditions and emergency contact numbers, which could potentially save lives in an emergency.
Subscriptions to the GVS Registry service will be marketed to both individuals and institutions. ADS plans to charge $200 for the chip, which would be inserted in an outpatient procedure under local anaesthetic, and an annual $40 service fee for maintaining the users’ database.
Newer versions of the VeriChip will hold up to a megabyte of programmable data, while others will be able to monitor and transmit bio-information information, and some will include a global positioning tracking feature, incorporating Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Technology.
A GPS version is to be launched in South America where it will be marketed to potential kidnap victims.
US privacy advocates have expressed serious concerns about the possibility that such ID chips may be involuntary planted in the future be used to track and monitor the movements of dissidents in the future.
The ID chip has even fanned apocalyptic fears among certain Christian groups who believe it may actually represent the "Mark of the Beast", as described in the Bible’s Book of Revelations.