I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI • Hacker News Board

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#421

Post by kerabatsos » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:33 PM UTC

malfist wrote: post #367

wwweston wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have systems around humans that exist to manage expertise gaps, credibility signals, and accountability. This is part of what makes humans as good as they are, along with specialized training and some measure of meritocratic selection. We license and regulate and account and litigate to make a system that responds and improves. Some of this might be applicable to LLMs, but some isn’t and much of it would be resist…

I've been going through PT for a hypermobility disorder related injury and I've use an AI to help me figure out "interview questions" to see if a PT knows anything about hypermobility or is willing to learn. I found it helpful to select a new PT after my first PT I trusted made things worse by prescribing stretches and no load progression from rest and recovery back to deadlifts

People put a lot of faith in human “guardrails”, standards, etc. But the same argument could be made that trusting human experts without discernment is as dangerous as trusting AI or Google or whatever other non-human source. It’s always been the case.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#422

Post by j45 » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:33 PM UTC

Imaging is one area where patients will be able to become more educated to ask better questions.

The areas of premature heavy interventions can be a challenge, especially where there might be room for interpretation and the medical professional didn’t share all possible options.

It’s critical to ask all professionals for all possible options and write each down as they write and explain it. No one’s perfect, and not everyone is negligent or malicious.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#423

Post by anon291 » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:33 PM UTC

I've found ChatGPT to be much better at medicine than doctors. For example, every winter, I would get itchy toes. I was quite concerned because they could be quite painful. But the symptoms were not obvious and they wouldn't occur often. The toes would swell up and become quite red and uncomfortable. One doctor suggested gout, which was not the right diagnosis, because I have no urea problems. Others suggested a skin cream.

No... I told ChatGPT exactly what I told you and it came up with the answer: Chillblains, which should have been obvious given everything I described, yet general practitioners were clueless and often reached for high intervention approaches

Harmless condition fixed by wearing socks. I brought it up with the same GPs who had misdiagnosed me and none had heard of it.

Of course, I'm cognizant that it could be mistaken, but a hospital fed my diabetic aunt a normal sugar diet while she was in a coma and forgot to give her metformin, so I mean, it's not like humans can't be retarded as well. The difference is no one gets offended when I point out ChatGPT has the capacity to be an idiot. Instead they just fix it.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#424

Post by madrox » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:34 PM UTC

I had shoulder pain about ten years ago. Had an MRI. Found evidence of a tear. Was told I would need surgery and referred to a sports medicine doctor. He looked at my MRI and said the real problem was my shoulder was frozen, and he could do surgery but the PT after is what would actually be what helped me. Two radiologists and two doctors saw my MRI before this moment. Sure enough, with a little PT I got better.

I’ve had several more medical blunders since then, including a doctor telling me my problem is to lose weight 48 hours before going into emergency surgery.

What I have learned is to be weary of any time I feel like I’m in a “funnel.” Once you’re in the funnel, no one is thinking critically about your issue any more. One person said they found X. Next person reads that and assumes Y and recommends Z. And so on until the alpha is multiplied to hell. Lots of treatments that don’t hurt but don’t help and run up insurance.

I have since used AI the last couple years and it has either concurred with my doctors or given me enough ammo to challenge them. If I were the author, I would trust neither but use Claude to ask how to go back to that clinic and challenge the diagnosis.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#425

Post by MattyMc » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:37 PM UTC

ambicapter wrote: post #227

sxg wrote: post #6

I'm a radiologist but can't really weigh in without seeing the full 3D MRI dataset. Regarding this point: > They performed shockwave therapy on my shoulder even though a recent clinical practice guideline says clinicians should not use or recommend shockwave therapy for rotator-cuff tendinopathy without calcification; I was told during ultrasound that there was no calcification. Ultrasound isn't a great way to assess…

> So an ultrasound report can state there are no calcifications while a plain radiograph can report the presence of calcifications without being inconsistent. Obviously very confusing to patients and people unfamiliar with medical jargon This is being overly nice, I think. Anyone who doesn't understand this is an idiot imo. You would have to assume that every type of diagnosis instrument has infinite clarity and is a…

> Anyone who doesn't understand this is an idiot imo

I don’t think that’s true. Avoiding this mistake requires knowing that an ultrasound may not detect calcification. For a patient reading their own report, I don’t think that’s intuitive. I would expect most people to read “no calcifications” and assume that their joint has no calcifications.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#426

Post by yosame » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:38 PM UTC

linsomniac wrote: post #327

darkwater wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, what?? Now I'm getting in panic mode because I do take regularly anti-hystaminic tablets/pills (the newer ones, based on ebastine because they don't make me feel sleepy)

You don't seem to need to worry, second gen tablets seem to be fine: https://claude.ai/share/9c6eaaa5-e734-4267-b540-ddc0188daf6b

Posting a claude chat is not actually helpful. The chat doesnt't even cite any sources.

I think this post is a decent summary, the answer is a soft maybe: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/should-i-worry-...

Second-gen tablets might increase dementia risk by a small-to-medium amount (there's almost certainly still a small degree of CNS activity, and we don't know what causes dementia in the first place), but researching it will be difficult. Dementia is hard to research because of how long it takes to develop, and it's poor coding within health data, and antihistamines are hard to research because they're not often prescribed and aren't available in the health data.

If it's a large effect, those factors wouldn't matter, but smaller risks are harder to detect and more sensitive to bias. If you want to minimise dementia risk, then reducing antihistamine use might be warranted, but you're probably better off addressing the risk factors we do know about: https://www.dementia.org.au/brain-health/risk-factors-develo...

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#427

Post by jongjong » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:39 PM UTC

I don't know which country this is but this sure seems like a country where doctors have an incentive to maximize the amount/cost of treatment.

I've seen the two extremes in different countries; either they have a tendency to maximize the complexity of the medical situation, or they minimize it "Don't worry, it's just stress" - I've been to different doctors in different countries and I see a pattern based on the country and the incentive structure. In some countries, they will send you off to do a scan for the slightest malaise.

I don't think it's about quality/coverage of public healthcare (at least not on its own; I have not seen a clear pattern across this axis). I think the difference is to do with the referral system. In countries where you can't go directly to a specialist and need a referral from a General Practitioner/Physician first (I.e. in order to get a refund), you tend to get more false negatives from the GP which block you from going to the next stage "It's nothing, just stress-related." In countries were you have the option to go directly to a specialist, they tend to be much more trigger-happy in terms of giving you a full workup and GPs/Physicians will more easily refer you to a specialist.

And I feel like the attitude extends to the specialists themselves. I suppose making people go to a GP first creates a kind of efficiency and predictability which alleviates pressure to exaggerate the severity of the situation.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#428

Post by tomlockwood » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:40 PM UTC

MattyMc wrote: post #425

ambicapter wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So an ultrasound report can state there are no calcifications while a plain radiograph can report the presence of calcifications without being inconsistent. Obviously very confusing to patients and people unfamiliar with medical jargon This is being overly nice, I think. Anyone who doesn't understand this is an idiot imo. You would have to assume that every type of diagnosis instrument has infinite clarity and is a…

> Anyone who doesn't understand this is an idiot imo I don’t think that’s true. Avoiding this mistake requires knowing that an ultrasound may not detect calcification. For a patient reading their own report, I don’t think that’s intuitive. I would expect most people to read “no calcifications” and assume that their joint has no calcifications.

It's a fatal flaw to think counter-intuitive == wrong.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#429

Post by pseudoramble » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:41 PM UTC

preg_match wrote: post #229

alistairSH wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the flip side, when I had rotator cuff issues, the surgeon recommended months of physiotherapy before resorting to the knife. And it worked. And by weight training regularly with a focus on correct shoulder movement, the pain stays away. It really seems like if you, as a patient, go looking for a quick fix, that’s what you’ll be offered. And if you educate yourself a bit and then go t for the best fix for you, you…

Physical therapy is very often under recommended in the US under the belief that insurance won’t cover it. They might. And, for anyone reading, you don’t even need a referral for the first 30 days in some states. Physical therapy is for more than just hip replacements and car accident trauma. Like regular therapy, a lot of “normal” people can benefit from it. It’s also not just stretching.

As somebody in the US who had to do 2 months of PT before I could even get an MRI of an injury, this is both surprising, and yet also not, to hear.

I broadly agree though; about a decade ago I had the standard office worker low back pain problems which cleared right up after doing squats multiple times a week. Of course a decade later I managed to blow out a disc at the gym, which I still work through as I write this today, but well worth the risk in the long run. Even with that long experience of strength training, the PT was worth it even if it didn’t fix my problem entirely. It added some variety and pointed out some details I had overlooked to improve my shoulder health.

Re: I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI

#430

Post by Gigachad » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 11:50 PM UTC

serial_dev wrote: post #363

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #117

> There's something incredibly peaceful about being in the hands of an expert you trust. [...] AI can absolutely shatter that feeling in an uncomfortable way [...] but I don't know if I can fully trust AI either. This really is key. We know we can't trust the AI, but at the same time we're also more comfortable asking the AI for clarifications or confronting it. Not having a time-bound appointment or paying by the ho…

These tools can’t reliably fix a 4px misalignment on my icon, better ask them about a medical report… but honestly, I would do the same.

Tbh LLMs pulling data out of medical documents in it's training set and searchable online is likely a much easier task than fixing some weird CSS alignment issue.