Georgia and Virginia Pass “Anti-Chipping” Laws Citing Signs of the Anti-Christ? Confusion On Healthcare Reform at the Heart of the Issue With Devices That Report Data

This is indeed a very heated issue with the rise of new technologies and the need to really educate and demand and request participating of Congress and Legislators with some forms of what is rapidly growing in healthcare technologies. There is a company called PositiveID that has been included here on the blog that makes an “implanted chip” that can connect to personal health records and it is an option for those who “want” to use the service. The company has a personal health record online as well that can connect with the chip and is available by subscription, but can be used without a chip by simply accessing information online too. I read on the web last week where some felt that the company would hold “health”records hostage if you didn’t pay up, but that is not true in the fact that the PHR can transfer records to a “free” PHR such as HealthVault and Google Health.

PositiveID Corporation Partners With International Maritime Medical Association – Health Link PHR Offering By Subscription Pilot Program

Some of the stir may have been created here too with the company in Florida working with Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana and United Healthcare with a company called Innovations Avocare to offer the chip and/or the personal health records to consumers. The consumer has the option to “opt out” with using an implanted chip which I would perhaps guess will be the option considered most favorable.

We come back around to the question posed here on “how long would this option be available” for consumers when the alliances with major healthcare insurers is involved. We all know they want all the data they can get their hands on for risk analysis and would there be a time when enforcement with such biometric monitoring move to the forefront? I think that portion of this issue is valid as we see other efforts being made in the biometric monitoring business with discounts being given to employees who opt in for some type of “behavioral monitoring” as this information allows insurers to further evaluate and assess risk. I write about those devices here quite a bit to create an awareness of what technology is being developed and in some areas, what is being used.

PositiveID is also working on another product that will be able to determine your glucose readings by breathing into a device and electronically connect and send data in this manner. Just for the record, they are not the only player in town when it comes to biometric monitoring but the “chip” is probably why they stand out as most other devices and systems are connected via devices that are external or that you carry with you.

PositiveID Corporation Acquires Easy Check Medical Diagnostics Non-Invasive Glucose Breath Detection

This is where education and monetary connections need to be explained to the general public as most have no clue as to what is really going on. There are other technologies too that lead to fear factors such as the DOD testing their "hand held lie detector”.

Homeland Security also has a device that is portable where it can”read your mind” out there. When you read stories about how the unit was taken to a shopping mall to be test on people just “in the mall” to see what was randomly on their minds, well you get the picture here. How do you think those individuals who had no idea what was going on felt about the device reading what was on their minds without any type of notification or being offered a disclaimer to participate.

Technology that Detects Threats by Reading Your Mind

We have a lot of new “wearable” devices out there, wireless, blue tooth and more.

Wearable Sensors and Other Healthcare Innovations Set to Flourish

Below is a summary of some of what has been posted here.

Wireless Monitoring With Medical Devices – There are Many Posts About These at the Medical Quack

Here’s a video that I have used several times here that shows a “blue tooth” inhaler, capable of capturing all types of data and reporting data for “compliance” and other analytic evaluation purposes

There’s also technology to where you can “opt” in and pay for a service that will scan your US Postal mail and convert it to email, and such a service might also panic people too wondering is their “paper” mail being scanned. There’s a wireless pillow out there too that can send your heart rates while you sleep. In the area of car insurance Progressive has a “driving monitoring chip” that will evaluate “how you drive” in testing. Allstate has an online program where you can be tested on your “brain fitness” to see if you are a capable driver.

In December of 2008 I wrote a bit of a satire/humor post about a day in the future of “Going to the Doctor” talking about both technologies that are here today and those in progress. You can check that out at the link below.

The Future – A Day of Going to the Doctor

We now have a pill bottle that has been in the news of late that also sends prescription data and medication information that is bought and sold for underwriting purposes. The device is great in what it does for the consumer, but it is also building data bases of “information that can be sold” about you.

The Pill Bottle That Talks To Your Cell Phone, Creates Data Reports and More…

“HIPAA does not give the Department of Health and Human Services the ability to directly investigate or hold accountable entities, such as pharmacy benefit managers or companies such as Ingenix and Milliman, who are not covered by HIPAA.”

We are also growing to where aggregation of data and technologies is being intertwined and combined so will your pill bottle be talking to your shirt someday? I don’t believe that most member of Congress is aware of even half of what is being developed out there and they don’t participate in much of this as we do as citizens.

Would Someone Explain Data Aggregation and “High Frequency Healthcare” to the US Congress

I have mentioned many times that a visual example of the algorithms included with the text in a law would really be beneficial in the fact that one it would reduce some of the text, and two lawmakers could see a visual on how information is calculated, used and in some instances “scored” for determining insurance claim payment information and premium cost.

Are We Ever Going to Get Some Algorithm Centric Laws for Healthcare

Somewhat sadly to say some of this fear is being taken out of context and the way laws and legislators look at some of this is maybe due to a lack of participation or perhaps even reading to know what is out there and then it ends up looking like a mockery of sorts as Rachel Maddow reported yesterday. The shooting incident at the Parkview hospital stated the shooter who killed himself and 2 others thought he had been implanted with a chip back in 2001 during a surgical procedure to remove his appendix, which I don’t think that was even possible so far back, but it shows the thought processes going on, with those who are maybe considered mentally stable and those who are not.

The fear factors out there are real and especially with “behavioral underwriting” processes in place today for health insurance, the privacy and unknowns leave a lot to the imagination sometimes. We all know there are good “algorithms” and bad “algorithms” used today and this even extends up the ladder to Wall Street with the Repo 105 algorithm being questioned with Lehman. It’s all around use.

The panic situation shown is real in the fact that yes it is panic with the fear of the unknown and leads to legislation with legislators trying to protect us from “fear factors” rather than what is really there, the data being used for monetary gain. There’s no doubt about that as it is all around use and when we come out of denial and perhaps read up on what is in fact being used, the education factor might help suppress some of what we are seeing today with laws created that actually deal directly with the technology being used and developed today.

UnitedHealthCare To Use Data Mining Algorithms On Claim Data To Look For Those At “Risk” of Developing Diabetes – Walgreens and the YMCA Benefit With Pay for Performance Dollars to Promote and Supply The Tools

The next link might explain a bit more about what “behavioral underwriting” is.

Wellpoint Enters Contract Agreement with Red Brick for Behavioral Underwriting

Also, read up and see how “intelligent” coupons have become, they are out there for prescriptions too.

Habits and Identities Revealed via Coupons – Facebook Fan Pages Can Make User ID Visible – Shopping Algorithms Reduce Privacy And Increase Visibility

One insurance company wants your weight to electronically monitor you to see if early detection of congestive heart failure is occurring.

Anthem Blue Cross Contracts with IDEAL LIFE Biometrics – Blue Tooth Wireless Body Weight Scales for Home Monitoring With Algorithms of Care Relating to Early Detection of Congestive Heart Failure (C.A.R.E.)

I write about these technologies to hopefully inform and bring an awareness around on how they can and are used and educate individuals on where their data is going and to question who has access, as consumers we should know. The two state legislatures focused on one item, the chip, when in fact there’s a lot more than that going on out there as this field is on fire and expanding rapidly with new data functions and information technologies almost daily. Do we have laws to protect us in this area – don’t think so as we are not to the point yet of passing daily bills and laws yet. I say yet, as who knows if it could lead to this?

Technology along with lack of up to date knowledge is what is creating this flurry of distrust and also leads to citizens not knowing which way to turn and the development of a “trust” for nobody as we live in a world with individuals that are out on the hunt for “control” of others, and that has gone on for centuries with nothing new there; however, methodologies and technologies are making this a whole new ball game so just be aware. Former President Clinton addressed the morality issues this week with one of his talks, and I think something we need to think about too, I post articles like that here quite often. Implementation and intelligence seems to be getting in the way of harmony at times instead of making it flourish.

We seem to have this growing flourish of “its for those guys over there” attitude where ever you turn. Our leaders get confused too at times in what they want or think of what “we” need.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Calls Out “No” By Mistake on Healthcare Vote – Second Time He Did This

I’m not sure what the answer here is other than leaders realizing this and conveying the message to not forget that we are humans and we should not be placing dollar signs on the “equity of living” as one, which is sadly what appears to be taking place today. We are people, not houses that have equity and some of the rationalization in this area gets very confused.

It just seems we have a lot of crossed wires today when we talk about morality, technology and equity in the same sentence, you can’t help but notice. BD

There are a lot of wacky people in the world. At times it is part of the joy of living, when you run into someone who is willing to give you a five hour mini-seminar on crop-circles or try to explain the universe with the theories of Immanuel Velikovsky. If you have a reasonable sense of the ridiculous and a lot of time on your hands it is a harmless source of entertainment. The problem comes when one persons wackiness intersects with the legislative process.

For those who can't get video at work, the clip has the woman talking about how she should have the right to work without being tortured by her coworkers activating the chip that she claims was installed in her "genital area", just by the use of electronic devices, such as cell phones.

You would also expect that after having been subjected to six minutes of world class crazy, that they would just move on with real business of the people of the State. Sadly that is where you would be wrong. After hearing this testimony the committee voted to move forward with a bill that would outlaw the force implantation of micro-chips in citizens of Georgia.

Why does the Georgia legislature and that of the Commonwealth of Virginia think this is a problem that needs to be addressed? It plays back to the hysteria about health care reform. One of the cost savings provisions of the law is to move towards electronic medical records. There is no doubt that by having medical records in a form that is accessible by the internet would not only reduce some of the administration costs, but lead to better outcomes as doctors can access all the work done on a patient in one place, even if there are multiple doctors involved.

The sponsor of the Virginia legislation was also deeply concerned that these chips were a sign of the Anti-Christ.

It is easy to right this kind of stuff off as silly season posturing, but I don't take it so lightly. We have a population where a significant number of people believe that government can't be trusted or expected to do positive things for the people. When we see legislatures using their limited time to take up issues like this, it just confirms that view. Even worse, it gives confirmation to the wacky folks in our society that their 45 degrees off of reality view are accurate.