RFID Chips – Good for health care, but potentially dangerous?

I was slightly disappointed to see the news that RFID chips may potentially be harmful to patients with pacemakers and other medical devices. RFID (radio frequency identification) chips/”tags” can be embedded into anything from expensive medications to IV infusion pumps to aid in preventing counterfeiting of drugs or supplies or just to help the hospital track inventory, so nurses aren’t standing around wondering where a piece of equipment is when it was left on another floor. RFID chips have also been pioneered as an addition to regular patient ID bracelets.
It’s important to note that the study (abstract from JAMA here, …read more