RFID Could Save Lives

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) could be one of the greatest tools to ever grace the human race.  The medical implications behind the technology are straight out of science fiction.  Unfortunately, so are the covert possibilities – insert ominous music here – that would bring “big brother” into every home.

I am the second child in the family.  Having a big brother was great, when I needed him.  But even the flesh and blood big brother had a tendency to stick his nose into my business when it wasn’t necessary.  If the technology to implant humans became wide spread, freedom might be as fleeting tomorrow as some of my boyfriends were back then.

There are some great potentials for RFID.  My brother is in med school, and the last time he visited we discussed software that allowed them to better diagnose patients.  It got me to thinking.  Wouldn’t it be great if there were some RFID implant that could be attached to patients when they first come into the hospital?  Nothing permanent mind you.  Maybe a tag in the ear, like an earring, that would dissolve in time.  Their personal information and chart could then be brought up on a smart phone, a PDA or a laptop computer.  It would make giving the wrong medication practically obsolete.

The biggest down fall of RFID is the security issue.  A hacker could make his way into a system from some employee using a bad password (ala “Hackers”) and could switch up information.  It is subject to the same concerns of other electronic formats, only with higher consequences if it’s used in the medical community.

Here in lies the dilemma of much of the advancements that have come about through out time.  Are the benefits of things like RFID implants worth the expense to personal freedoms?