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This is really a bad article, one that can actually have a net negative effect on the world. Vox is trash.

Retric 3y ago
Conveying accurate information is hardly trash, they’re simply talking about counterintuitive effects. Annual checkups for healthy people on average cost as many lives as they save. It’s better for people to know what kind of symptoms they need to seek medical treatment for than simply suggest an annual checkup is all that’s needed. I just went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and he said I was healthy…
- Spivak 3y ago
  "True but misleading." Telling people information in a manner that leads people into take the wrong conclusion from it -- "they're useless stop going to them" is really dumb. You can say damn near anything citing only true information along the way.
  - Retric 3y ago
    Healthy people shouldn’t have an annual physical. That is 100% the correct messaging. There is age related things that should be checked regularly but a healthy 22 year old doesn’t benefit from an annual physical. It’s not just a waste of money but also an unnecessary strain on the medical system. Under the age of 50 and in good health, every 3 years is fine at 50 once a year. Data suggests even that may be excessive but it’s still better than every year.
    - Spivak 3y ago
      Yes but this already happens, my dad was told by his primary at 25, "you look good, see you when you turn forty." If your insurance is paying for them it's for whatever bean and counting reason they want and they pay you not insignificantly to do it. So if your doc schedules them, usually because you're a woman and age related care starts at like 25 go to them, and if your insurance pays you to go, go. And generally it's an uphill battle to get men to go to the doctor at all because obviously they're "healthy" so I can't really bemoan the "unnecessary" visits.
    - arisAlexis 3y ago
      Yes they do need one and the article is trash because it makes it look like includes all med exams. Colonoscopies, blood exams,blood pressure exams etc are absolutely necessary. It's just plain silly to think they are bad for you. Really dangerous.
- spondylosaurus 3y ago
  > Annual checkups for healthy people on average cost as many lives as they save. How, exactly? What's the risk of death at an annual checkup? Hitting your knee a little too hard with the reflex hammer?
  - Retric 3y ago
    It’s not the visit’s themselves, though there is some risk of contacting disease in a waiting room it’s not very high. However, the effect I mentioned is very real. When someone gets a clean bill of health and they are more like to ignores symptoms right after the visit. Thus there is no spike in heart attacks after a cardiologist visit, but there is a spike in people ignoring symptoms afterwards resulting in a small spike in deaths from heart attacks. On top of that medical procedures like biopsies carry risks and healthy people going for an annual physical are vastly more likely to have unnecessary procedures done.
    - spondylosaurus 3y ago
      Even assuming a nonzero risk of death via annual checkup (however close to zero that may approach), I'd still be hard-pressed to believe that that causes anywhere near as many deaths as it prevents. For every person who contracts pneumonia in the waiting room and dies(?) there have to be at least two people who get a hypertension diagnosis and go on meds that prevent an early heart attack. Probably a lot more than two.
      - Retric 3y ago
        Hypertension isn’t a fast killer. So it’s not that people should never go to the doctor, just that going every single year doesn’t have any benefit for young healthy people over going every 3 years. And again don’t discount the impact of regular visits reducing the odds someone goes to the doctor with new symptoms. This rash is converting but I’ve got a visit scheduled in a few weeks so I might as well wait etc.
      - CogitoCogito 3y ago
        > For every person who contracts pneumonia in the waiting room and dies(?) there have to be at least two people who get a hypertension diagnosis and go on meds that prevent an early heart attack. Probably a lot more than two. Do you have any evidence for this claim?
wilg 3y ago
You gotta say why they’re wrong so we can evaluate it.
- arisAlexis 3y ago
  Because the article talks about med exams like it includes everything. It will make people skip their annual breast exams, colonoscopies, blood exams and so many other things that should be done annual and they said lives. Thus, the article is indirectly killing people. Yes the author. From his ignorance.
  - recursive 3y ago
    On the other hand, because this article exists, I read these comments. And I have concluded that there are probably some tests that I should do, although I'm not sure exactly what yet. But I'm going to get some kind of test. As opposed to none, like before. Take heart.

Conveying accurate information is hardly trash, they’re simply talking about counterintuitive effects. Annual checkups for healthy people on average cost as many lives as they save. It’s better for people to know what kind of symptoms they need to seek medical treatment for than simply suggest an annual checkup is all that’s needed. I just went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and he said I was healthy…

Spivak 3y ago
"True but misleading." Telling people information in a manner that leads people into take the wrong conclusion from it -- "they're useless stop going to them" is really dumb. You can say damn near anything citing only true information along the way.
- Retric 3y ago
  Healthy people shouldn’t have an annual physical. That is 100% the correct messaging. There is age related things that should be checked regularly but a healthy 22 year old doesn’t benefit from an annual physical. It’s not just a waste of money but also an unnecessary strain on the medical system. Under the age of 50 and in good health, every 3 years is fine at 50 once a year. Data suggests even that may be excessive but it’s still better than every year.
  - Spivak 3y ago
    Yes but this already happens, my dad was told by his primary at 25, "you look good, see you when you turn forty." If your insurance is paying for them it's for whatever bean and counting reason they want and they pay you not insignificantly to do it. So if your doc schedules them, usually because you're a woman and age related care starts at like 25 go to them, and if your insurance pays you to go, go. And generally it's an uphill battle to get men to go to the doctor at all because obviously they're "healthy" so I can't really bemoan the "unnecessary" visits.
  - arisAlexis 3y ago
    Yes they do need one and the article is trash because it makes it look like includes all med exams. Colonoscopies, blood exams,blood pressure exams etc are absolutely necessary. It's just plain silly to think they are bad for you. Really dangerous.
spondylosaurus 3y ago
> Annual checkups for healthy people on average cost as many lives as they save. How, exactly? What's the risk of death at an annual checkup? Hitting your knee a little too hard with the reflex hammer?
- Retric 3y ago
  It’s not the visit’s themselves, though there is some risk of contacting disease in a waiting room it’s not very high. However, the effect I mentioned is very real. When someone gets a clean bill of health and they are more like to ignores symptoms right after the visit. Thus there is no spike in heart attacks after a cardiologist visit, but there is a spike in people ignoring symptoms afterwards resulting in a small spike in deaths from heart attacks. On top of that medical procedures like biopsies carry risks and healthy people going for an annual physical are vastly more likely to have unnecessary procedures done.
  - spondylosaurus 3y ago
    Even assuming a nonzero risk of death via annual checkup (however close to zero that may approach), I'd still be hard-pressed to believe that that causes anywhere near as many deaths as it prevents. For every person who contracts pneumonia in the waiting room and dies(?) there have to be at least two people who get a hypertension diagnosis and go on meds that prevent an early heart attack. Probably a lot more than two.
    - Retric 3y ago
      Hypertension isn’t a fast killer. So it’s not that people should never go to the doctor, just that going every single year doesn’t have any benefit for young healthy people over going every 3 years. And again don’t discount the impact of regular visits reducing the odds someone goes to the doctor with new symptoms. This rash is converting but I’ve got a visit scheduled in a few weeks so I might as well wait etc.
    - CogitoCogito 3y ago
      > For every person who contracts pneumonia in the waiting room and dies(?) there have to be at least two people who get a hypertension diagnosis and go on meds that prevent an early heart attack. Probably a lot more than two. Do you have any evidence for this claim?

wilg 3y ago

You gotta say why they’re wrong so we can evaluate it.

arisAlexis 3y ago
Because the article talks about med exams like it includes everything. It will make people skip their annual breast exams, colonoscopies, blood exams and so many other things that should be done annual and they said lives. Thus, the article is indirectly killing people. Yes the author. From his ignorance.
- recursive 3y ago
  On the other hand, because this article exists, I read these comments. And I have concluded that there are probably some tests that I should do, although I'm not sure exactly what yet. But I'm going to get some kind of test. As opposed to none, like before. Take heart.