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The Hollow Men of Hims

alexkesin.com

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Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#81

Post by bongodongobob »

jeremy151 wrote: post #52
jackdeansmith wrote: post #7

>The real tragedy is not that Hims exists, but that it works so perfectly. Every day, thousands of people choose their compounded weight-loss drugs over FDA-approved alternatives, their combination ED pills over established single-ingredient treatments, their algorithmic consultations over actual medical care. They make these choices not because the products are better, but because the entire experience has been opti…

> If you want safe and really high quality medical care you should absolutely have a personal physician you have a personal relationship with, who understands your lifestyle, your risk factors for side effects, and your medical needs deeply. How many Americans have that? Maybe a few dozen? A bit of a tangent: I have this here in the US, through a model called Direct Primary Care. I pay $50/mo for a single provider, u…

$50 + health insurance? I saw my PCP after my health insurance had unknowingly lapsed and a physical was ~$1k with just some basic blood work.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#82

Post by classichasclass »

nijave wrote: post #66
classichasclass wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't agree with you there, because if you're treating with the wrong dose or for the wrong length of time, you run the risk of making that infection resistant. For communicable illnesses, that can be a risk for others. But I appreciate your honesty. I should also add that those pharmacies, if they are based on the United States, invariably have a licensed provider in there signing off (they would be illegal otherw…

I don't know about op but I've heard the veterinarian versions of antibiotics are widely available. Who knows on the quality control I believe many obtained ivermectin through similar channels despite it being a prescription drug

In the United States, at least, veterinary preparations are broadly manufactured to the same standard (some veterinary drugs are relabeled stock originally manufactured for human use, even). Dosing and concentrations may differ, however.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#83

Post by bongodongobob »

bigyabai wrote: post #55
alphazard wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and medical care should not be like Amazon prime. Speak for yourself; that is exactly what I want. And anyone else who wants a similar experience should be able to purchase it.

I don't think it will take more than 5 teenage overdose deaths to get most Americans to disagree.

Kind of tired of making life hard for everyone because a few stupid people might potentially make some bad decisions.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#84

Post by teaearlgraycold »

I actually really like the compound hair loss solution they sell. I was already using ketoconazole after talking to my doctor and buying minoxidil over the counter. Getting something with finasteride as well consolidated and simplified things.

And I know full well I’m paying more than I should. One of these days I’ll look for a cheaper alternative.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#85

Post by genocidicbunny »

lmm wrote: post #72
jeremy151 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you want safe and really high quality medical care you should absolutely have a personal physician you have a personal relationship with, who understands your lifestyle, your risk factors for side effects, and your medical needs deeply. How many Americans have that? Maybe a few dozen? A bit of a tangent: I have this here in the US, through a model called Direct Primary Care. I pay $50/mo for a single provider, u…

> I pay $50/mo for a single provider, unlimited visits / communication, and highly discounted labs. She makes house calls on occasion. This doctor is working solely in my interest, and has little concern of insurance, except to help me navigate that system should I need a specialist, prior authorization, etc. Someone's presumably paying her more than $50/hr, which will burn through your monthly fees pretty quickly. W…

It works the same way that health insurance works -- most people don't need all that much care, and when time-consuming care is needed, it is often pushed to the specialists rather than the generalist. Your $50/mo payment might not seem like much, but if all you're doing is a bi-monthly checkin with them over the phone, you're really paying more like $100/visit for a 15-30 minute visit.

A lot of these 'concierge medicine' services are set up to deal with mostly people who don't need all that much medical care, beyond relatively brisk access to the doctor in a few rare circumstances. Since they also don't really do much in terms of specialty care, they tend to have fewer Px who need extensive personal care.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#86

Post by 827a »

yold__ wrote: post #12

Semaglutide / GLP-1 compounding is not limited to just Hims. Lot's of pharmacies do it. The manufacturer (Novo Nordisk) charges 5x-10x for the exact same thing. The author calls the GLP-1s used in compounding "Chinese Knockoffs", but offers no evidence of quality control problems, and is instead relying on the reader's prejudices. GLP-1 drugs may be a game-changer for obesity and diabetes, the same way that cholester…

Agreed. The number of times the article specifically calls out "shady Chinese knockoffs" is honestly, actually, racism. If there's evidence that Hims' drugs are harmful: Present it. The article doesn't. I know tons of people who have used Hims and companies like it, for a variety of things. I'm aware of no specific or general problems anyone has had with their medication.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#87

Post by classichasclass »

lmm wrote: post #76
sarchertech wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take the case of a antibiotics. A large percentage of people want their doctor to prescribe them antibiotics when they have a virus. It’s been shown that doctors who over-prescribe antibiotics get better patient reviews for example. Now you have a “better UX” that pops up that gives people exactly what they want. They answer a few questions on a website and they get an antibiotic prescription. There is no way for the…

> It’s been shown that doctors who over-prescribe antibiotics get better patient reviews for example. Are they over-prescribing, or are the others under-prescribing? Comparing how hard it is to get antibiotics as a human with how easy it is to get them for animals (even if there's no evidence of disease) certainly makes one think.

I think there is a big problem with antibiotic overuse in food animals, certainly. Although they can be useful for growth, large livestock farms are environments where drug-resistant infections can spread easily. I try to buy antibiotic-free meats as a rule but that doesn't really stop the damage caused by the meat companies that don't care about it.

As far as human antibiotic use, the flip side are the colleagues who will tell me that they did a thorough workup on a patient, found no indication for antibiotics, told the patient so to the best of their ability, and got dinged on the insurer's survey or castigated on doctor rating sites. I'm of course only hearing the provider's side of the story, but nobody likes to be told no, even when it's the right answer. (Also insert opioids, stimulants and benzodiazepines into this conversation.)

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#88

Post by mannykannot »

alphazard wrote: post #34
binarymax wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s possible for both you and the article to be right. The system sucks, but Hims are also terrible, and medical care should not be like Amazon prime.

> and medical care should not be like Amazon prime. Speak for yourself; that is exactly what I want. And anyone else who wants a similar experience should be able to purchase it.

Personally, I am thankful that I have better options than going through hundreds of options with scant and unreliable information about which is actually effective and will be supplied as as claimed. If, however, that is your preference, you can certainly get it in the US, at almost any price point.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#89

Post by 827a »

parpfish wrote: post #30

> The genius of Hims lies in understanding that consumers will pay almost any premium to avoid the humiliation of discussing erectile dysfunction or hair loss with an actual human being. Does the telemedicine appeal to people because they want to avoid embarrassment, or because they know that traditional doctors will schedule you for an appointment three months out just to say “have you tried getting better sleep, lo…

Every human is just one "are you drinking enough water? how much water are you drinking" interaction with their doctor away from instant radicalization against the traditional healthcare system. You can really tell the author of this article hasn't yet actually had to use the non-emergent American healthcare system for anything significant.

Re: The Hollow Men of Hims

#90

Post by decafninja »

jeremy151 wrote: post #52
jackdeansmith wrote: post #7

>The real tragedy is not that Hims exists, but that it works so perfectly. Every day, thousands of people choose their compounded weight-loss drugs over FDA-approved alternatives, their combination ED pills over established single-ingredient treatments, their algorithmic consultations over actual medical care. They make these choices not because the products are better, but because the entire experience has been opti…

> If you want safe and really high quality medical care you should absolutely have a personal physician you have a personal relationship with, who understands your lifestyle, your risk factors for side effects, and your medical needs deeply. How many Americans have that? Maybe a few dozen? A bit of a tangent: I have this here in the US, through a model called Direct Primary Care. I pay $50/mo for a single provider, u…

I’ve heard of this, also known as concierge medicine right?

But the figures I’ve seen quoted for such service usually begin in the four digits, sometimes five digits, annually.

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