RFID technology can be good for medicine

This summer after DEFCON I did a short series on the dangers of RFID.  From potentially bomb-triggering passports to worthless clear-text authentication VeriChip implants that can be easily cloned, RFID is one of the most controversial and misunderstood technologies in recent years.  But are there any good uses for RFID?  Dan Farber interviewed the CIO of Harvard Medical School John Halamka who gave some examples of good uses for RFID.

Halamka pointed out that RFID could be used to track inventory such as life saving equipment.  But more importantly, one potential use of RFID is an implant that can measure and report glucose levels wirelessly.  Such a device could have a massive impact on the lives of Diabetics and we could begin to see this kind of technology within two years.  Another use is RFID medical records which may or may not need to be in an implantable format because RFID wristbands could be used in place of implants.  But as always, the security of the devices depend heavily on proper implementation.