6 ms·

I dissagree. If I have some sensitive medical history and I go in for stitches or some other minor thing with an random doctor I might not want to share all my

I dissagree. If I have some sensitive medical history and I go in for stitches or some other minor thing with an random doctor I might not want to share all my medical history. It’s my history and I should have the right to control who sees it.

davidw 8y ago
I'd rather opt out of a few sensitive things than not have an ER doctor in another state not have easy access to critical information about me.
ambicapter 8y ago
You are not a medical professional and the list of medical procedures or remedies that interact poorly with each other is long and full of unexpected things.
- drb91 8y ago
  Your profession should not dictate your rights to your data.
  - ambicapter 8y ago
    No one is stopping you from accessing your data. The question is to whether you should be able to stop your doctor (or your emergency doctor) from accessing your medical data. Sounds like a bad idea.
    - int_19h 8y ago
      It might well be, but shouldn't it be up to you to decide that? It's your private data.
      - freedomben 8y ago
        Agreed. It's your private data and it's also your body! If you end up getting worse treatment due to not sharing data, it's on you. As an adult and the owner of my body, that's my right to decide for myself.
        yomly 8y ago
        Quite surprised to see such strong opinions on this issue - I can obviously sympathise with a desire to privacy but personally hold faith in doctor confidentiality. More pressingly - how can a doctor provide the best care in the absence of records? Imagine trying to ship a bugfix for a complex system where you don't have the source code and the business owner is refusing to give you the documentation but will sue you and ruin your career if you make a mistake. I'd probably refuse to see the patient given how much pressure doctors are under to not make a mistake. What happens if you got a nasty gash and wanted the wound treated and the doctor wanted to issue antibiotics as a precaution but you had a penicillin allergy (which you either forgot to disclose or simply didn't know about but were tested for at some stage in your childhood)
        int_19h 8y ago
        Whether you should or shouldn't share that information with your doctor is a different question, and is the one where trust etc is relevant. The point here is that the choice to share or not share should be the patient's, regardless. If doctors want to turn down patients that wouldn't share something, that's up to them, of course.
        freshhawk 8y ago
        Cool. I don't believe you and luckily I am in a position to prove it. As an expert I require your medical records, so send them to me now. Everyone else: I will reply to my own comment with a followup if it turns out I am wrong and yomly does actually feel this way.
        dang 8y ago
        Please don't post in the flamewar style to Hacker News. We're trying for something better than that here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - Spooky23 8y ago
      The real question that matters most in the ER is “What is your date of birth?”
    - leetcrew 8y ago
      just because something is a bad idea doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to do it.
- fao_ 8y ago
  While this is true, knowledge of other treatments can in a number of cases actually harm the patient as well through malpractice. See: https://journals.tdl.org/jrwg/index.php/jrwg/article/view/97 https://journals.tdl.org/jrwg/index.php/jrwg/article/view/97 https://www.dailydot.com/irl/trans-broken-arm-syndrome-healthcare/ https://www.dailydot.com/irl/trans-broken-arm-syndrome-healt... https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/09/feature-the-dangers-of-trans-broken-arm-syndrome/ https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/09/feature-the-dangers-of... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-health/british-government-accused-of-mishandling-trans-healthcare-idUSKCN1OX1LY https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-health/briti... Sure this is a minority, but it still harms people.

davidw 8y ago

I'd rather opt out of a few sensitive things than not have an ER doctor in another state not have easy access to critical information about me.

ambicapter 8y ago

You are not a medical professional and the list of medical procedures or remedies that interact poorly with each other is long and full of unexpected things.

drb91 8y ago
Your profession should not dictate your rights to your data.
- ambicapter 8y ago
  No one is stopping you from accessing your data. The question is to whether you should be able to stop your doctor (or your emergency doctor) from accessing your medical data. Sounds like a bad idea.
  - int_19h 8y ago
    It might well be, but shouldn't it be up to you to decide that? It's your private data.
    - freedomben 8y ago
      Agreed. It's your private data and it's also your body! If you end up getting worse treatment due to not sharing data, it's on you. As an adult and the owner of my body, that's my right to decide for myself.
      - yomly 8y ago
        Quite surprised to see such strong opinions on this issue - I can obviously sympathise with a desire to privacy but personally hold faith in doctor confidentiality. More pressingly - how can a doctor provide the best care in the absence of records? Imagine trying to ship a bugfix for a complex system where you don't have the source code and the business owner is refusing to give you the documentation but will sue you and ruin your career if you make a mistake. I'd probably refuse to see the patient given how much pressure doctors are under to not make a mistake. What happens if you got a nasty gash and wanted the wound treated and the doctor wanted to issue antibiotics as a precaution but you had a penicillin allergy (which you either forgot to disclose or simply didn't know about but were tested for at some stage in your childhood)
        int_19h 8y ago
        Whether you should or shouldn't share that information with your doctor is a different question, and is the one where trust etc is relevant. The point here is that the choice to share or not share should be the patient's, regardless. If doctors want to turn down patients that wouldn't share something, that's up to them, of course.
        freshhawk 8y ago
        Cool. I don't believe you and luckily I am in a position to prove it. As an expert I require your medical records, so send them to me now. Everyone else: I will reply to my own comment with a followup if it turns out I am wrong and yomly does actually feel this way.
        dang 8y ago
        Please don't post in the flamewar style to Hacker News. We're trying for something better than that here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    The real question that matters most in the ER is “What is your date of birth?”
  - leetcrew 8y ago
    just because something is a bad idea doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to do it.
fao_ 8y ago
While this is true, knowledge of other treatments can in a number of cases actually harm the patient as well through malpractice. See: https://journals.tdl.org/jrwg/index.php/jrwg/article/view/97 https://journals.tdl.org/jrwg/index.php/jrwg/article/view/97 https://www.dailydot.com/irl/trans-broken-arm-syndrome-healthcare/ https://www.dailydot.com/irl/trans-broken-arm-syndrome-healt... https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/09/feature-the-dangers-of-trans-broken-arm-syndrome/ https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/09/feature-the-dangers-of... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-health/british-government-accused-of-mishandling-trans-healthcare-idUSKCN1OX1LY https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-health/briti... Sure this is a minority, but it still harms people.