This is a great article. How do we fix it? We are experiencing late stage capitalism at every turn in our lives. I don’t know where to start. Regulations? But Google has moles in every level of government. A real search competitor? It feels impossible to think it could happen at scale. There is a niche for a company that is like the original Google and that could grow. How can we help it succeed?
Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
131–140 of 438 posts
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even if a doctor spends a bunch of time on you, you should still do research. End of the day you're the person that cares most about your health in the whole world, why should you just leave it to a random expert with good intentions? If you spend time researching and come to them with detailed information about your symptoms, what you already ruled out and things you've tried, as well as a good understanding of your…
I care most about my car, house etc in the whole world too. The risk I guess is that being informed might make me want to overrule the experts. On a population scale the advice might be bad. Depends on how good the experts are.
Sure, but if a professional breaks your car or house irreparably then they have insurance to buy you something equivalent or better.
If a doctor breaks your body irreparably, it would seem there's a high probability that you have no recourse other than in rare situations you might get a settlement for some cash. Cash that won't fix your problem.
My main point is that the risks aren't comparable at all.
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Gatekeepers that block access to potential treatment pathways until you can convince them it’s worth a try. You assume they actually know what needs to be done. In my experience, you can see they don't have a clue and aren't willing to do research to learn. They just hand out their usual prescriptions, etc and sometimes hope an exam will give them an obvious answer. On top of that, most doctors only have a very nar…
I‘m really not trying to sound snarky, but - is this the supposedly high quality treatment that U.S. citizens get that is so much more expensive as opposed to the „socialized“ insurance we get in Europe that is cheaper for everybody and supposedly therefore not as good/cutting edge?
[deleted]
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mean, I agree with this but also feel that pharmaceutical companies should not be advertising directly to the public.
I think everyone agrees, but it is a first amendment nightmare to try and regulate.
We already prohibit advertising for cigarettes (on broadcast TV and print), so this doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#135> You're reading this in a year that starts with "2" so the only possible starting point is Google. LOL. Seriously? Google the biggest known data whore, worst privacy invader on the Internet, whoring personal data out to any john willing to pay. Yeah. The year starts with 2 and Goog has been pimping your data for 23 years now and people still haven't learned they are not your friend.
What is your point? Did the author write something which indicates they think Google is an ethical company?
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I have heard of plenty of scammy dentists myself, I don't see a reason to complain about them cleaning your teeth. If you actually told them you just got your teeth cleaned that is a different issue though.
The 10th dentist didn't notice there was no tartar? Or the first 9 didn't remove the tartar? Which is the good option?
Dentists aren’t really setup to assume the patient is being weird. It’s like going to a full service car wash right after getting your car washed - they’ll wash it again for you.
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#137“ Medicine has become a three-way negotiation between you, your doctor, and The Algorithm.” This characterization makes it sound like a good thing. In reality, the doctor’s responsibility is being pushed to the patient because they are overbooked in the name of economic efficiency. As a patient with complex, non-specific medical condition, I can tell you how miserable this is. I can’t count on doctors _at all_ to mov…
Can confirm. They paint people who google symptoms as kooks or as annoying, but you have to if you ever want to get an actual diagnosis and treatment, because doctors and hospitals are, quite often, worse than Google at figuring out WTF is wrong. Do your best not to end up in a hospital without an advocate (friend, relative) watching out for you. They'll fail to treat you at best, then discharge you with a shrug and…
I thought expert systems were supposed to replace diagnosis, like three decades ago.
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#138A pretty obvious clue from the beginning here was: > your insurance won't cover it So to answer > So how do most patients make this decision? 0. Insurance won't cover it, so they don't get it ($), or 4. Insurance won't cover it, which is a signal it isn't an evidence-based intervention, so they don't get it.
Insurance doesn't cover adult orthodontia either but that doesn't mean it's not evidence-based (just elective). And a laser-based cleaning technique sounds pretty elective.
It's a signal, but not the only signal.
Orthodontia are a cosmetic procedure with a pretty visible result. It's an exceptional case, not the rule.
And for many people, see step 0.
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dentists don’t remove wisdom teeth, they just refer you to an oral surgeon. The problem with wisdom teeth is that they increase maintenance requirements, it’s hard to clean back there and they can affect adjacent teeth if they do go bad. So I get why many dentists default suggest to remove them (I still have mine but recently started running into problems at 47).
> they just refer you to an oral surgeon Perhaps in the US where they drug you down? Here the dentist just gives you a local anesthetic and pry them out, unless there is something extraordinary. Or perhaps it's a different person? But still the same company getting the money.
The US usually has both options - and the dentist will usually recommend the surgeon, especially since some medical insurance will cover that but not the yank and jank.
Oral surgeons in the US are usually found in larger hospitals; most dentists are just dentists.
Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
My experience: Teeth looks fine and healthy, not much tartar to clean. When was the last time you visited? Two years ago. Oh no you should visit at least twice a year (?). Even if all looks fine x-ray is recommended which can reveal some things. I do the x-ray. All is fine. You don't even have upper wisdom teeth. Lower wisdom teeth are at 90deg so they can pose a risk if they started growing. Yeah, but I am 40 years…
90-degree? Yeah, you should get those wisdom teeth out because general anesthesia at your advanced age would not be good for your longevity. That is, if your wisdom teeth were ever then to surface and rot.
Impacted, unerupted wisdom teeth are not always a problem. If you're over 25 [1] it's highly unlikely they'll ever attempt to erupt, never causing a problem.
Impacted wisdom teeth don't always stay impacted when they start moving too. They can straighten up when they start coming in.
[1] Hupp J, et al. Contemporary Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Chapter: Principles of Management of Impacted Teeth. From https://www.animated-teeth.com/wisdom_teeth/t6-wisdom-tooth-...