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

My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

stallman.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 245 posts

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#171

Post by davidcuddeback »

7402 wrote: post #116
spolsky wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you have a lawyer to represent you? That's their job... to make sure that the contract you're signing is OK. Actually reading a contract without knowledge of the law, case history, and background can get you into just as much trouble as not reading it at all. That's why you have lawyers review important contracts.

The first time I rented a car, I spent 10 minutes reading the rental agreement. I don't do that any more; I just glance at it and sign it. I am not a lawyer. Suppose a rental car matter ended up court. I would rather not have to say to the judge, "I spent 10 minutes thoughtfully reading and evaluating the contract, and after careful consideration decided to accept the agreement." I would rather be able to say, "Gee,…

I always read employment contracts before signing them, too. Last time I did this, the contract said something to the effect of, "The company can modify this agreement at any time without notifying the employee." I immediately crossed out that clause and initialed.

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#172

Post by mahyarm »

igorsyl wrote: post #91

The medical industry is in need of disruption. Has anyone played with the idea of "seeing" a doctor located in a different country using a video app? I imagine the experience would be better than what most people deal with in the states. US doctors have too much power and they take advantage of it. A remote doctor would be under more competition and be willing to provide better service.

That doctor will not be able to authorize you to purchase restricted medications they recommend, or authorize your insurance to pay for various expensive procedures and test.

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#173

Post by rfugger »

derleth wrote: post #144
rfugger wrote: post #120

I recently had a similar experience at my dentist's office. I was asked to sign a waiver of liability, presumably for insurance purposes. It asked me to state that I had been informed of the risks of the procedure (tooth removal), including a long list of possible bad outcomes. I asked the dentist about this, and she said not to worry, most of those couldn't happen here. So I asked her to please strike the ones that…

That dentist is an ass. Whatever else a medical professional of that type's job is, it is public-facing . That has implications up and down their practice, but one of the most basic is that they are expected to treat patients with dignity and respect. I grew up around the medical world, and someone who acted like her would not have a good reputation among her colleagues, and it wouldn't matter if she was a DDS, MD, A…

To be fair, she did do an excellent job pulling the tooth -- she was just frustrated at having to spend half an hour on a 3-minute procedure.

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#174

Post by neurotech1 »

droithomme wrote: post #22

I've run into the same routine with medical professionals. Also, many of these privacy notices have a clause that they can disclose your private information for certain reasons, then a list which includes "advertising and marketing" purposes with other entities. When I ask about this I am always told they would never do that, it is a standard notice and no one other than me has ever said anything. When I refuse to si…

No their is no federal requirement to allow personal information for marketing purposes.

A doctor friend mentioned that even if the patient agreement allows "advertising and marketing", a medical practice still has limits on what they can do before the Medical Board would pull their license, or potentially feds busting them.

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#175

Post by Periodic »

davidcuddeback wrote: post #171
7402 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first time I rented a car, I spent 10 minutes reading the rental agreement. I don't do that any more; I just glance at it and sign it. I am not a lawyer. Suppose a rental car matter ended up court. I would rather not have to say to the judge, "I spent 10 minutes thoughtfully reading and evaluating the contract, and after careful consideration decided to accept the agreement." I would rather be able to say, "Gee,…

I always read employment contracts before signing them, too. Last time I did this, the contract said something to the effect of, "The company can modify this agreement at any time without notifying the employee." I immediately crossed out that clause and initialed.

Does that actually work? Is it enforceable? I would imagine that if you sent back a contract with modifications for their review that they would balk at hiring or you would get involved with the lawyers who are so much better at legal negotiating than you are.

I definitely would not do that with a consulting contract. The chance that something weird would come up is generally worth it to get a good client.

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#176

Post by cpeterso »

vacri wrote: post #41
chrisacky wrote: post #4

Could you imagine at the extremes if you had been refused treatment because of your refusal to sign this document, to which you knew to be untrue, and to which they could not provide you with the policy. I studied law for four years (haven't qualified) , but I'm still not even sure on the liability on this one (if there is any at all in this hypothetical). It just shows how bureaucratic everything has become when a p…

The privacy policy wasn't 3000 pages. Either Stallman didn't remember the story correctly, or more likely the receptionist was just making up a number to scare him off pursuing the issue. Even the thickest novels don't make it to 3000 pages; very few make it to 1000. Hell, I'd be surprised if the privacy policy hit 3 pages.

What was the actual page count of the privacy policy?

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#178

Post by scott_s »

WiseWeasel wrote: post #170
scott_s wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He didn't "spite" his dentist. He wanted her to explain the risks of the procedure - which I think is reasonable.

Maybe he didn't ask in the most tactful manner.

Sure, that's possible. But you have no evidence for it, and I find it (cough) rude to assume so, and then criticize him for it.

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#179

Post by epochwolf »

itstriz wrote: post #56
jrs235 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, car loan signing wasn't as bad and the bank and credit union folks I've dealt with were surprisingly patient... they are surprised when people actually read the agreements though... I think it makes them feel better knowing the person is actually reading what they are agreeing to. Also car loans are many times less complex and have less paperwork than mortgages (thanks in part to all the additional paperwork an…

The worst experience I've had with this sort of thing is under release from jail. I've been arrested 3 times for civil disobedience actions and each time on my way out the officer on duty told me to sign some papers indicating the conditions of my release, that I've received all my property, etc. Each time, when I began to read the papers before signing them, they've told me if I don't sign them without reading them,…

> Each time, when I began to read the papers before signing them, they've told me if I don't sign them without reading them, they would put me back in my cell and hold me at least another few hours.

Wouldn't that the document since it was signed under duress?

Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie

#180

Post by tjic »

Periodic wrote: post #175
davidcuddeback wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always read employment contracts before signing them, too. Last time I did this, the contract said something to the effect of, "The company can modify this agreement at any time without notifying the employee." I immediately crossed out that clause and initialed.

Does that actually work? Is it enforceable? I would imagine that if you sent back a contract with modifications for their review that they would balk at hiring or you would get involved with the lawyers who are so much better at legal negotiating than you are. I definitely would not do that with a consulting contract. The chance that something weird would come up is generally worth it to get a good client.

> Does that actually work? Is it enforceable?

Yes, it's legal and enforceable. Your signature is on the contract that you sign, not on some mythical un-marked-up copy.

In fact, this is often a good negotiating tactic: someone hands you a contract, and they just want to get it signed. You strike out the price and write in a new price (or whatever), initial it, sign it, and hand it back.

The psychic weight is now on them - they have a SIGNED CONTRACT and all they need to do is to sign it themselves.

Taking the conceptual step backwards from a contract (albeit only signed by one party) to a contract signed by NEITHER party is a bit hard to do.

Post reply on HN