4 ms·

I would personally rather be involved in the decision making process related to my very existence rather than just told what to do.

by donatj 5y ago

matsemann 5y ago
I "feel" like I would like that as well. But if I every get really ill with something longterm, I'm also afraid I'd spend too much energy on all the decisions and research. Giving patients options also gives them doubts.
- bittercynic 5y ago
  I think individual patients have very different preferences on this. I've taken pets to a few different vets, and some say things like "There are many possible reasons for these symptoms. Let's try XYZ and see how it goes." Others are more like "Your dog has X. We'll do Y and it should clear up." My preference is for the one who I think is being honest with me about how certain they are about what's going on, and when a medical professional seems like they want to appear 100% certain all the time it makes me worry about their judgement. I think many people have the opposite preference, which seems to me is asking for dishonesty. Seems like an ethically tricky area.
fullstop 5y ago
I mean, I agree with this but also feel that pharmaceutical companies should not be advertising directly to the public.
- teddyh 5y ago
  Note: Advertising prescription drugs to the public is only legal in the USA, and also New Zealand. Nowhere else.
- Workaccount2 5y ago
  I think everyone agrees, but it is a first amendment nightmare to try and regulate.
  - fullstop 5y ago
    We already prohibit advertising for cigarettes (on broadcast TV and print), so this doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.
    - Workaccount2 5y ago
      Cigarettes have the "think of the children" special ability.
warent 5y ago
But why? Imagine your grandmother who knows nothing about computers or tech asking you about GPUs and which programming language is best because she's curious about buying Bitcoin vs investing in Ethereum. For someone who can't tell the difference between a screen saver and a computer virus, the discussion is meaningless, and only the illusion of control exists
- SamBam 5y ago
  And to extend your analogy, instead of the grandmother talking to a helpful expert, all the information they are given comes from BitCoin salesmen, and she's expected to "do her own research."
  - warent 5y ago
    Side effects may include losing all your money, but those side effects are like really really rare
- b112 5y ago
  "What's and adblocker" - my Grandma. Well, you know a phone book? And, you know how if you want to phone someone, you tend to look up their number in a phone book? "Yes" Well, computers are the same. They only know numbers, they're computers after all, and DNS maps the names you see for websites, to numbers, so computers can find the website. "Uh, OK" The adblocker I am going to install, makes it impossible for the computer to see the numbers for advetisers. It can't find them in its phone book any more. So, no ads! Now grandma understands how DNS works, and what some adblockers do. Some things are not as technically complex as we think they are.
  - warent 5y ago
    Maps names of websites? I don't know what that means. Timmy showed me The Amazon and the egg cooker from there worked wonderfully so I don't want an ad blocker.
    - 5y ago
IneffablePigeon 5y ago
I mean, I do see where you're coming from, and I have in the past second guessed some medical advice and asked if they'd considered a particular diagnosis I had a hunch on. On the other hand, they're a professional and they've usually spent the majority of their life training to be good at what they're advising you about. I don't demand to be involved in the design of planes I fly on or bridges I cross, because frankly I'd do a worse job than even a pretty bad qualified engineer.

I would personally rather be involved in the decision making process related to my very existence rather than just told what to do.

by donatj 5y ago

I would personally rather be involved in the decision making process related to my very existence rather than just told what to do.

matsemann 5y ago

I "feel" like I would like that as well. But if I every get really ill with something longterm, I'm also afraid I'd spend too much energy on all the decisions and research. Giving patients options also gives them doubts.

bittercynic 5y ago
I think individual patients have very different preferences on this. I've taken pets to a few different vets, and some say things like "There are many possible reasons for these symptoms. Let's try XYZ and see how it goes." Others are more like "Your dog has X. We'll do Y and it should clear up." My preference is for the one who I think is being honest with me about how certain they are about what's going on, and when a medical professional seems like they want to appear 100% certain all the time it makes me worry about their judgement. I think many people have the opposite preference, which seems to me is asking for dishonesty. Seems like an ethically tricky area.

fullstop 5y ago

I mean, I agree with this but also feel that pharmaceutical companies should not be advertising directly to the public.

teddyh 5y ago
Note: Advertising prescription drugs to the public is only legal in the USA, and also New Zealand. Nowhere else.
Workaccount2 5y ago
I think everyone agrees, but it is a first amendment nightmare to try and regulate.
- fullstop 5y ago
  We already prohibit advertising for cigarettes (on broadcast TV and print), so this doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.
  - Workaccount2 5y ago
    Cigarettes have the "think of the children" special ability.

warent 5y ago

But why? Imagine your grandmother who knows nothing about computers or tech asking you about GPUs and which programming language is best because she's curious about buying Bitcoin vs investing in Ethereum. For someone who can't tell the difference between a screen saver and a computer virus, the discussion is meaningless, and only the illusion of control exists

SamBam 5y ago
And to extend your analogy, instead of the grandmother talking to a helpful expert, all the information they are given comes from BitCoin salesmen, and she's expected to "do her own research."
- warent 5y ago
  Side effects may include losing all your money, but those side effects are like really really rare
b112 5y ago
"What's and adblocker" - my Grandma. Well, you know a phone book? And, you know how if you want to phone someone, you tend to look up their number in a phone book? "Yes" Well, computers are the same. They only know numbers, they're computers after all, and DNS maps the names you see for websites, to numbers, so computers can find the website. "Uh, OK" The adblocker I am going to install, makes it impossible for the computer to see the numbers for advetisers. It can't find them in its phone book any more. So, no ads! Now grandma understands how DNS works, and what some adblockers do. Some things are not as technically complex as we think they are.
- warent 5y ago
  Maps names of websites? I don't know what that means. Timmy showed me The Amazon and the egg cooker from there worked wonderfully so I don't want an ad blocker.
  - 5y ago

IneffablePigeon 5y ago

I mean, I do see where you're coming from, and I have in the past second guessed some medical advice and asked if they'd considered a particular diagnosis I had a hunch on. On the other hand, they're a professional and they've usually spent the majority of their life training to be good at what they're advising you about. I don't demand to be involved in the design of planes I fly on or bridges I cross, because frankly I'd do a worse job than even a pretty bad qualified engineer.