3 ms·

> I'm not going to give up reading the test results from my doctor You could just call them.

andwur 5mo ago
Oh just wait, the AI phone service on their side will be more than happy to complete your device attestation key challenge by touch tone. We have to make sure you are still you after all! But in all seriousness, many services are making it difficult through to impossible to communicate outside of their web or app platforms. Call centres are expensive and messy, and it's now apparently acceptable as a society to treat customers/clients/whatever as adversaries so they can get away with making it hard to communicate with them.
- petre 5mo ago
  I was unable to book a doctors meeting through the clinic's website, so I declared "screw tech" and called their call center, which still worked better. The app just searched for the "first available spot" and never found anything. If they axe the call center I'm going to have to go to their place.
getpokedagain 5mo ago
Or ask for a print out.
scbrg 5mo ago
Fairly sure that would be considered a breach of patient confidentiality where I live, at least.
- majorchord 5mo ago
  Sorry to hear that. What did people do before computers then?
  - scbrg 5mo ago
    Not sure how that's relevant. There are computers now. Regulations change with the times. Green lasers weren't controlled in the 1700:s either. Are you comfortable with anybody being able to ring up the hospital and say "yo, it's majorchord, how are my gonnorhea results?"
    - majorchord 5mo ago
      > Are you comfortable with anybody being able to ring up the hospital and say "yo, it's majorchord, how are my gonnorhea results?" No, that's why we have safety protocols in place. When you call a doctor they ask you for your birthdate or sometimes also a PIN/password on your account to protect your data. How would that still be considered a breach of privacy?
      - scbrg 5mo ago
        Alright. I didn't know that. "Just call them" did not sound like it included any kind of authentication procedure. But giving birthdate (available to anyone via a single query in a public database) and (sometimes?! - what?!) PIN over the phone wouldn't really be considered good enough here. Birthdate is, as I said, public knowledge. And a phone is too insecure a medium for transmitting a password. I'm not super interested in an long argument about whether it's reasonable that this isn't considered secure or not. I'm just letting you know what reality looks like. And the reality is that "just call them" is not a solution, because such information will simply not be handed out over the phone.
        ranger_danger 5mo ago
        > And the reality is that "just call them" is not a solution, because such information will simply not be handed out over the phone. It already is a solution, and has been in widespread use for many decades. I don't think it's going anywhere.
- iamnothere 5mo ago
  You should check your patient portal closely, they may be violating your confidentiality in ways that are much worse: https://vanguardcommunications.net/facebook-ads-pixel/ https://vanguardcommunications.net/facebook-ads-pixel/
account42 5mo ago
That misses the point: alternatives will only be available as long as enough people uses them.
- ranger_danger 5mo ago
  I still make and receive calls all the time to get test results from my doctor, I think tons of people still use that option.

Oh just wait, the AI phone service on their side will be more than happy to complete your device attestation key challenge by touch tone. We have to make sure you are still you after all! But in all seriousness, many services are making it difficult through to impossible to communicate outside of their web or app platforms. Call centres are expensive and messy, and it's now apparently acceptable as a society to treat customers/clients/whatever as adversaries so they can get away with making it hard to communicate with them.

petre 5mo ago
I was unable to book a doctors meeting through the clinic's website, so I declared "screw tech" and called their call center, which still worked better. The app just searched for the "first available spot" and never found anything. If they axe the call center I'm going to have to go to their place.

getpokedagain 5mo ago

Or ask for a print out.

scbrg 5mo ago

Fairly sure that would be considered a breach of patient confidentiality where I live, at least.

majorchord 5mo ago
Sorry to hear that. What did people do before computers then?
- scbrg 5mo ago
  Not sure how that's relevant. There are computers now. Regulations change with the times. Green lasers weren't controlled in the 1700:s either. Are you comfortable with anybody being able to ring up the hospital and say "yo, it's majorchord, how are my gonnorhea results?"
  - majorchord 5mo ago
    > Are you comfortable with anybody being able to ring up the hospital and say "yo, it's majorchord, how are my gonnorhea results?" No, that's why we have safety protocols in place. When you call a doctor they ask you for your birthdate or sometimes also a PIN/password on your account to protect your data. How would that still be considered a breach of privacy?
    - scbrg 5mo ago
      Alright. I didn't know that. "Just call them" did not sound like it included any kind of authentication procedure. But giving birthdate (available to anyone via a single query in a public database) and (sometimes?! - what?!) PIN over the phone wouldn't really be considered good enough here. Birthdate is, as I said, public knowledge. And a phone is too insecure a medium for transmitting a password. I'm not super interested in an long argument about whether it's reasonable that this isn't considered secure or not. I'm just letting you know what reality looks like. And the reality is that "just call them" is not a solution, because such information will simply not be handed out over the phone.
      - ranger_danger 5mo ago
        > And the reality is that "just call them" is not a solution, because such information will simply not be handed out over the phone. It already is a solution, and has been in widespread use for many decades. I don't think it's going anywhere.
iamnothere 5mo ago
You should check your patient portal closely, they may be violating your confidentiality in ways that are much worse: https://vanguardcommunications.net/facebook-ads-pixel/ https://vanguardcommunications.net/facebook-ads-pixel/

account42 5mo ago

That misses the point: alternatives will only be available as long as enough people uses them.

ranger_danger 5mo ago
I still make and receive calls all the time to get test results from my doctor, I think tons of people still use that option.