Video: FDA Approves The Big Brother Pill !

[Sleeping Cobra]

The FDA has given it's approval for a new "big brother" type pill that can tell if you have taken your meds.

[Terriannie]

I don't get this. Now there's a pill that you take to let you know if you took your pill? If they are that forgetfull in the first place what makes them think they'll remember to take that pill made to remind you to take the pill?? What's wrong with their pill being put in a box marked with the time/day on it and take it? If that system doesn't work then maybe that senior really needs to be in a facility or have home care.

They should rename this pill from "Big Brother Pill" to "'O' Brother Pill."

[duchess47]

Neo, we need you here.

[Masterchief117]

You will probably have to take the tracking pill under supervision (dr.'s office) to make sure that its is in you. Probably has a sensor in it that can tell by temperature, so if you purge yourself too soon, it will alert the doctor's office or government agency in charge.

[Flippper]

I see it more as a tattle tale who will alert the state if your deathcare demands you be taking specific medicines, and yes, they will force you. Remember who's behind all this, big pharma, the hitler of medical "care".

[Just Plain Mom]

There are already programs in place to see if you've used your CPAP machine, your hearing aid, etc., properly and as directed. I understand, in a way, the CPAP thing--aside from letting the insurance company know you're actually using it (although why you'd need supplies if you weren't using it to begin with), it documents periods of high leaks, which interfere with its usefulness--and this is something you'd want to address.

And speaking of supplies, our insurance company's provider (so, they're not the folks that pay for it, but the folks who provide and then bill for it) was very concerned because we didn't order enough supplies--every X months for each thing. Why? Because the ones we have are still good. Why waste our company's money? (My company self-pays every medical bill we have, so it is, indeed, coming our of my company's coffers.) They demanded that we take in the smart cards to see if we were using them. *sigh*

There are folks out there who don't take medications as directed, and need help adjusting that. But there are many folks who simply don't WANT to take some medications even though the doctor thinks it best. Ultimately, it's not the doctor's body, but some doctors somehow don't see it that way.

I happen to have a rare and confusing disease. Many doctors don't know much about it, and (dangerously) some think they do but don't. At this point, I have the ability to walk away from a doctor whose knowledge is less than my own about my own body. My specialist supports this. (For example, there is heart involvement, I go to a cardiologist locally and he tells me, peevishly, that my disease doesn't exist and isn't something to worry about. How embarassing for him to be caught so uninformed by a patient!) But he insists I stop one medication, that I don't need it. What if TPTB had taken his word for it?

There is only one way that I can see this type of pill as beneficial. A patient goes to the doctor and is given 7 medications to take 16 times a day, timed "just so." (That happens to be what I take...and at first, it was very complicated to figure out. I had to make a schedule and cross things off, and I now have my appointment reminder pop up at work in case I get too busy to remember to take a pill.) But let's say the patient is an elderly person, lives alone, and the medications DOESN't make him/her feel better. No witness to say, "Yes, he/she took it exactly as ordered, so something needs to be adjusted." In my experience, many doctors do not believe that most patients will be compliant, so they'll say, "Well, you need to be better about this..."

This could be used to help select patients, but in the end, I fear, its good will be contaminated by those who feel the need to control others to their detriment. Now I will have to worry about that occasional Saturday that I sleep past 6 am, thereby taking that first pill in the morning late. (I am so very tired, so I figure that if I am able to sleep longer, that can't be bad for me...)

So sad that so many good things are corrupted by "good intent"...

[Terriannie]

Thank you Flipper and Masterchief. So I guess this is not just a reminder pill for seniors who forget to take their blood pressure meds. This pill can be used for ANYONE who might "forget" whatever future pill is forced on them!

I now reverse my earlier non-panic stance. This sounds like a truly "Big Brother" thing and one that bears watching!!!!