4 ms·

No they don't. I would happily take a few hours each year to get an MRI done. We would need more machines, but even now the prices aren't too exorbitant for so

No they don't. I would happily take a few hours each year to get an MRI done. We would need more machines, but even now the prices aren't too exorbitant for something done annually (or- even every few years)

lazyasciiart 4y ago
20% of americans havent even seen a doctor in the last year. MRI prices for a fun test are far beyond a huge percentage of the country. https://civicscience.com/20-u-s-adults-not-seen-doctor-past-year/ https://civicscience.com/20-u-s-adults-not-seen-doctor-past-...
- cableshaft 4y ago
  Yeah I think my last MRI was $800, with insurance. And they didn't find anything. I'm not exactly champing at the bit to spend the money to do that every year. If it were $50-100, maybe then.
  - throwaway09223 4y ago
    Everything's relative. I've had about 8 MRIs in the last few years. I also wouldn't bat an eye at spending $1k on preventative care each year. Many Americans are paying that annually for premium TV shows.
    - cableshaft 4y ago
      I've had like 4 MRI's total. The most recent one was I had a scare about a possible aneurism, which is what they didn't find anything for, and then had a couple for looking at my neck and back, where they found two bulging disks, one in the middle of my back and one in my lower back. And they had to check my leg for something once, maybe blood clots? I haven't needed to get one for several years now. MRI's don't seem that great for an annual preventative check, since they are usually checking a pretty small area (or at least mine were). Like those were 4 different MRI's to check me from head to one of my calves. Getting 4+ of those a year would add up quick. And that's not even taking into account any of a myriad of other tests that could be done every year. I'm sure I could probably take a different test every week of the year, but I'd be bankrupt quick.
      - throwaway09223 4y ago
        Why would you jump to an absurd scenario like one every week? It would be an enormous benefit to do one MRI a year, rotating between areas of interest, at a relatively negligible cost ($500-1k or so per year - about what it costs for an annual physical). It's extremely cheap compared to your Dr's hourly billable rate and would get cheaper at scale.
        lazyasciiart 4y ago
        I don't believe it would be an enormous benefit at all. What are you basing that claim on?
- valenterry 4y ago
  Well, I wouldn't call them "fun tests" but otherwise that's true. However, there is also a chance to save a lot of money by recognizing illnesses early. Sometimes it's possible to prevent a life-long need to take expensive medicamentation or it allows to detect cancer and allow for easy surgery in an early stage allowing for complete cure instead of requiring expensive chemotherapy AND surgery for a long time with a worse outcome. It might also very well prevent people from being unable to work due to illnesses if they are detected early enough. And that all isn't even considering the changes in quality of life of course.
- throwaway09223 4y ago
  "20% of americans havent even seen a doctor in the last year" And 80% have. The needs of the 80% are not determined by the behavior of the bottom 20% Rich people get better everything, including better medical care. The upper 30% or so can afford better diagnostics and they should be getting those better diagnostics. Many of us in the software industry could afford a few extra thousand a year for preventative care -- but it is very difficult to obtain care commensurate with one's ability to pay. This is a real problem.
  - lazyasciiart 4y ago
    Thats great, but this was the proposal I was responding to: "We need yearly scans or even monthly scans (MRI) for everyone"
    - throwaway09223 4y ago
      As a dream scenario, yes. It's a reasonable goal. MRIs vary widely in cost and that cost will continue to fall. We'll get monthly scans within our lifetimes.

lazyasciiart 4y ago

20% of americans havent even seen a doctor in the last year. MRI prices for a fun test are far beyond a huge percentage of the country. https://civicscience.com/20-u-s-adults-not-seen-doctor-past-year/ https://civicscience.com/20-u-s-adults-not-seen-doctor-past-...

cableshaft 4y ago
Yeah I think my last MRI was $800, with insurance. And they didn't find anything. I'm not exactly champing at the bit to spend the money to do that every year. If it were $50-100, maybe then.
- throwaway09223 4y ago
  Everything's relative. I've had about 8 MRIs in the last few years. I also wouldn't bat an eye at spending $1k on preventative care each year. Many Americans are paying that annually for premium TV shows.
  - cableshaft 4y ago
    I've had like 4 MRI's total. The most recent one was I had a scare about a possible aneurism, which is what they didn't find anything for, and then had a couple for looking at my neck and back, where they found two bulging disks, one in the middle of my back and one in my lower back. And they had to check my leg for something once, maybe blood clots? I haven't needed to get one for several years now. MRI's don't seem that great for an annual preventative check, since they are usually checking a pretty small area (or at least mine were). Like those were 4 different MRI's to check me from head to one of my calves. Getting 4+ of those a year would add up quick. And that's not even taking into account any of a myriad of other tests that could be done every year. I'm sure I could probably take a different test every week of the year, but I'd be bankrupt quick.
    - throwaway09223 4y ago
      Why would you jump to an absurd scenario like one every week? It would be an enormous benefit to do one MRI a year, rotating between areas of interest, at a relatively negligible cost ($500-1k or so per year - about what it costs for an annual physical). It's extremely cheap compared to your Dr's hourly billable rate and would get cheaper at scale.
      - lazyasciiart 4y ago
        I don't believe it would be an enormous benefit at all. What are you basing that claim on?
valenterry 4y ago
Well, I wouldn't call them "fun tests" but otherwise that's true. However, there is also a chance to save a lot of money by recognizing illnesses early. Sometimes it's possible to prevent a life-long need to take expensive medicamentation or it allows to detect cancer and allow for easy surgery in an early stage allowing for complete cure instead of requiring expensive chemotherapy AND surgery for a long time with a worse outcome. It might also very well prevent people from being unable to work due to illnesses if they are detected early enough. And that all isn't even considering the changes in quality of life of course.
throwaway09223 4y ago
"20% of americans havent even seen a doctor in the last year" And 80% have. The needs of the 80% are not determined by the behavior of the bottom 20% Rich people get better everything, including better medical care. The upper 30% or so can afford better diagnostics and they should be getting those better diagnostics. Many of us in the software industry could afford a few extra thousand a year for preventative care -- but it is very difficult to obtain care commensurate with one's ability to pay. This is a real problem.
- lazyasciiart 4y ago
  Thats great, but this was the proposal I was responding to: "We need yearly scans or even monthly scans (MRI) for everyone"
  - throwaway09223 4y ago
    As a dream scenario, yes. It's a reasonable goal. MRIs vary widely in cost and that cost will continue to fall. We'll get monthly scans within our lifetimes.