This opens the door to all kinds of scary possibilities.
From ABC News:
In a groundbreaking decision on Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug with a “digital ingestion tracking system,” which senses when a pill is swallowed and sends the data to a smartphone.
The new drug/device combination product called Abilify MyCite is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and mood disorders. The Abilify (aripiprazole) tablets come embedded with an Ingestible Event Marker (IEM) sensor, the size of a grain of sand, that sends information to a patch the patient wears. The patch then transmits the data to smartphones and online healthcare portals — which can be accessed by health care professionals and caregivers if the patient approves.
Comment: Aside from the creepy invasion of privacy and other opportunities for abuse with this technology, let’s not forget the dangers of electromagnetic fields and Wi-Fi, especially for young children. Cell phones, for instance, include warnings in the fine print about overexposure. And what are the potential health consequences of ingesting a “digital ingestion tracking system”? Orwellian medicine, coming soon unless we object! By the way, here are the possible side effects of Abilify.
