Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

statnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 161 posts

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#71

Post by 1986 »

pseingatl wrote: post #14

Telemedicine is now a "thing," it is not that difficult to find a medical professional in another country who is fluent in English as well as the target language. Just as X-Rays are now commonly sent overseas to be read, you can set up a Zoom call with a medical colleague who is bilingual. On the other hand, if you are complaining about the quality of Google Translate, that is another matter. Deepl.com's translations…

As with anything in US healthcare, it's never that simple, e.g. Telehealth providers outside of the US can't bill Medicare (https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/doctors-outside-us-cann...) which covers about 1/5 of the population.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#72

Post by exolymph »

google234123 wrote: post #45
BaronVonSteuben wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, absolutely. My doctor of 10+ years recently retired, leaving me in search of a new doc. I've been managing my pain for 15+ years just fine with 10mg Hydrocodone. In 15 years I only once asked to increase the dose, and it was only from two pills per day to three to help me get through the afternoon/evening better. A minuscule dose. After doing "new patient" appointments (which by the way were like $200 to $300 ea…

We also now know that those treatments kill people and users gain dependence and tolerance to opioids. It’s more than just protecting their medical license.

Who fucking cares? This wouldn't be nearly as huge of a problem if people with a physical dependency — inclusive of addicts, but by NO MEANS exclusively addicts — could reliably access safe, reliably dosed opioids instead of getting pushed to street drugs.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#73

Post by bena »

sjtindell wrote: post #63
atdrummond wrote: post #40

I and some others in the healthcare/healthcare tech spaces volunteered to create a discharge templating system for many of the top non-English and non-Spanish languages used in the United States - specifically the top languages in the Northwest to start. Our offering utilized data from, and would have been integrated with, an EMR whose name means "particularly impressive" even if their response was anything but. Afte…

My partner has used an EMR called Epic in her work and it, like all EMRs it seems, is trash. Government protections and a moat of network effects, they’re untouchable.

EMR software, like all medical software, suffers from a variation of the Dead Sea Effect.

Those who are truly invested in EMR software are not developers and developers are not invested in EMR software. So, as a developer, it's a job you take because you need a job. And if you're competent, you can get a job elsewhere eventually. If you're not, well, it's not like medical software has a deep talent pool to draw from. You can coast for a long time.

Combined with that, you have to work with doctors and nurses. Doctors especially operate under the belief that demonstrated competence in one area correlates to expertise in all areas. No one bikesheds harder than a doctor. Except a doctor who fancies himself a programmer as well.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#74

Post by dijonman2 »

BaronVonSteuben wrote: post #38
atdrummond wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has become an absolute joke. I have had 6 surgeries for Crohns, a back surgery due to wear and tear from high level athletics, and am a long term sufferer of an aggressive leukaemia. Despite using opioids responsibly for over a decade, I am regarded as nothing more than a drug seeking pest the very few times I have actively sought pain relief during in-patient hospital stays. Prior to being dropped entirely from m…

Yep, absolutely. My doctor of 10+ years recently retired, leaving me in search of a new doc. I've been managing my pain for 15+ years just fine with 10mg Hydrocodone. In 15 years I only once asked to increase the dose, and it was only from two pills per day to three to help me get through the afternoon/evening better. A minuscule dose. After doing "new patient" appointments (which by the way were like $200 to $300 ea…

You can buy oxy on the street. Super expensive. $1/mg.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#75

Post by throwaway42124 »

BaronVonSteuben wrote: post #38
atdrummond wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has become an absolute joke. I have had 6 surgeries for Crohns, a back surgery due to wear and tear from high level athletics, and am a long term sufferer of an aggressive leukaemia. Despite using opioids responsibly for over a decade, I am regarded as nothing more than a drug seeking pest the very few times I have actively sought pain relief during in-patient hospital stays. Prior to being dropped entirely from m…

Yep, absolutely. My doctor of 10+ years recently retired, leaving me in search of a new doc. I've been managing my pain for 15+ years just fine with 10mg Hydrocodone. In 15 years I only once asked to increase the dose, and it was only from two pills per day to three to help me get through the afternoon/evening better. A minuscule dose. After doing "new patient" appointments (which by the way were like $200 to $300 ea…

No post body was provided.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#76

Post by google234123 »

atdrummond wrote: post #47
google234123 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We also now know that those treatments kill people and users gain dependence and tolerance to opioids. It’s more than just protecting their medical license.

The proportion of patients who become addicted from properly prescribed opioids is extremely small. The majority of addicts created were provided with opioids that were not appropriate for their particular medical situation, in doses that were too high, and on a regimen that exceeded in length what was supported by the medical evidence. The proportion of new cancer patients who go on to receive palliative care that i…

A meta study of 38 studies from 7 years ago on patients using opioids for chronic pain found that 21-29% of the patients misuse the drugs and 8-12% of the patients are addicted to them. That doesn't seem "extremely small" like you said, though maybe it's better now. I think there are reasons why opioids are no longer recommended for the treatment of most patients with chronic pain that you aren't fairly acknowledging.

https://journals.lww.com/pain/Abstract/2015/04000/Rates_of_o...

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#77

Post by google234123 »

exolymph wrote: post #72
google234123 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We also now know that those treatments kill people and users gain dependence and tolerance to opioids. It’s more than just protecting their medical license.

Who fucking cares? This wouldn't be nearly as huge of a problem if people with a physical dependency — inclusive of addicts, but by NO MEANS exclusively addicts — could reliably access safe, reliably dosed opioids instead of getting pushed to street drugs.

If these people have access to a doctor/health care then there they definitely have options to treat their addition. Any family physician would be happy to discuss treatment options.

The problem of people without health care is a bigger and separate issue.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#78

Post by scotty79 »

Why is Google translate still so bad?

I remember that when it was introduced many years ago it was horribly bad but it's badness was a hope that things will improve quickly.

And after so many years and so much data available to google it's still that bad.

Re: Doctors who use Google Translate to talk to patients want a better option

#79

Post by nitwit005 »

I'm sure it's possible to make their discharge instruction template, but it seems inevitable they're hand out instructions to people who won't understand them.

Even with native speakers, medical instructions can be difficult. You can find lists of commonly confused English medical terms: https://www.antidote.me/blog/medical-terms-a-to-z-common-and... https://www.2ascribe.com/articles/health-wellness/40-words-t...

And, of course, there are still plenty of illiterate people.

Post reply on HN