Healthcare IT Consultant Blog: “VeriChip Corporation Outlines Current Applications and Potential Future Applications for its First-of-a-Kind Implantable RFID Implantable Microchip - VeriChip Corporation, a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, today provided additional comments regarding its VeriMed™ Health Link patient identification system following the recent passage of a bill by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives banning forced microchip implantation in humans, and also outlined its current and potential future applications for its RFID implantable microchip. The VeriMed Health Link system was cleared by the FDA in 2004 as a Class II medical device and is the first and only implantable microchip cleared by the FDA for patient identification. “
From the VeriChip website:
Health Link is the connection between you and your personal health record. Health Link utilizes a tiny,
passive microchip (the nation’s first and only microchip cleared for patient identification by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration) and a secure, private online database that links you to your personal health record. Your Health Link is always with you and cannot be lost or stolen. It provides emergency room doctors and nurses with your vital medical and emergency contact information, allowing them to treat you rapidly, accurately and safely during an emergency.
The Health Link microchip
What you need to know about Health Link:
• Health Link allows ER doctors and nurses immediate access to your personal health record and emergency contact information during an emergency.
• ER doctors and nurses use Health Link as a tool to help treat you rapidly, accurately and safely based on your current medical information.
• Your personal medical and emergency contact information is easily updated through Health Link’s secure, online database.About the size of a grain of rice, the microchip is inserted just under the skin and contains only a unique, 16-digit identifier. The microchip itself does not contain any other data other than this unique electronic ID, nor does it contain any Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking capabilities. And unlike conventional forms of identification, the Health Link cannot be lost, stolen, misplaced, or counterfeited. It is safe, secure, reversible, and always with you.
I’ve mentioned before that I think RFID would make a great way to track a patient’s EMR. Well, now you can do just that. That’s some pretty cool technology.
