2023 (100 points, 116 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36903220
2020 (279 points, 319 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24336039
2018 (157 points, 109 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18381969
When I moved to New York I was surprised to find a dentist whose practice was much the same, though he did have a few computers around. He retired recently.
Computers no doubt can improve things; a lot of it seems like a no-brainer. But I'm starting to doubt that they're there to improve things.
I get that I’m ranting against healthcare and not doctors, but I’d run far from any doctor that’s paper only these days.
There have been times I wished they would have done that.
I expect them to be resourceful rather than know everything off the top of their head.
That or those symptoms are exceptionally vague or uncommon enough that they warrant a quick refresher on google for leads on additional questions we should ask of patients (the most common offender here is rashes/skin lesions imo since they can literally be a manifestation of super simple "oh you just changed your shampoo" to "you have a rare autoimmune condition"...asking a comprehensive history from patients can help determine what tests to order).
Patient talks about symptoms, doctor returns a markdown-formatted prescription. Charge by the number of tokens.
The one important thing is to know how to work the system. Once you understand how it works, it's remarkably easy to guide your doctor or other service providers to do what you want. I talk a lot with the doctor and my spouse (who has taught me a lot), and I also read various online forums. Further I have no truly serious health problems that require intensive care, which could change things a lot.
I understand many people feel differently, and I in no way want to invalidate their subjective experience- if you prefer paper, or find computer doctors impersonal, or anything else, I'm not here to try to convince you otherwise.
People making the purchases are not the ones using the system and they hate it because it doesn't serve them... A tale as old as time.
For example, one of my doctor friends mentioned he has to scroll past an "order birthday cake button" at the top menu level so he can get to the order tests section and drill down to actually order tests.
mitchbob•5h ago
For me, the most interesting part is about 4/5 of the way in and starts with
> Some people are pushing back. Neil R. Malhotra is a boyish, energetic, forty-three-year-old neurosurgeon who has made his mark at the University of Pennsylvania as something of a tinkerer. He has a knack for tackling difficult medical problems. In the past year alone, he has published papers on rebuilding spinal disks using tissue engineering, on a better way to teach residents how to repair cerebral aneurysms, and on which spinal-surgery techniques have the lowest level of blood loss. When his hospital’s new electronic-medical-record system arrived, he immediately decided to see if he could hack the system.
A great example of participatory design.
tinix•2h ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44778004