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Company defends RFID implant product Joe Vanden Plas / Wisconsin Technology Network | June 1st 2006 Madison, Wis. - The parent company of a Florida manufacturer of radio frequency enabled microchips is stressing the voluntary nature of the product following the signing of a bill prohibiting Wisconsin employers and government agencies from requiring them to be implanted. Scott Silverman, chairman and CEO of Applied Digital, the parent of VeriChip Corp., said the company's practices are consistent with what the law provides. "In theory, we're in agreement with the bill," Silverman said. "For years now, we've had a strong privacy policy in our company and with our supplier network." Silverman, however, did take issue with one aspect of the bill, the lack of an exemption for the guardians of high-risk patients with dementia. Assembly Bill 290, which will prohibit any entity from requiring an individual to undergo the implanting of a microchip, was signed into law by Gov. Doyle. Violators face fines of up to $10,000. Its chief sponsor, State Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, said the legislation breaks new ground in protecting individual privacy rights. However, in addition to outlawing forced implantation, AB 290 contains exemptions in cases where the implanting is a condition of criminal sentencing, or if a parent directs implantation in a minor. Silverman, however, said the bill should have included another exemption for the legal guardians of certain high-risk patients, guardians who have been entrusted with making medical decisions for them. "The exemptions in the bill don't speak to the most relevant exemption," he said. Getting chippy The chips have several applications, but their principle use is of interest to hospitals because they provide healthcare professionals access to patient identification stored in an Internet database. Former Wisconsin Governor and federal Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, a member of VeriChip's board of directors, has said he will have the chip implanted as soon as hospitals in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. adopt the technology. The chips, which are implanted beneath the skin, give off radio frequency signals and also can be used to limit access to secure rooms. ---------------------------------------------------
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