Thanks.

EmmaZahn — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 07:37:39 +0000

In reply to Emma, you wrote: routine

Thanks.

Emma, you wrote: routine

tmccarthy0 — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:12:19 +0000

In reply to And just think about it,

Emma, you wrote:

routine physicals of healthy people could very well provide the most useful data of all.

Yep, exactly and yes to everything you and destor said up-thread.

And just think about it,

EmmaZahn — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:08:30 +0000

In reply to I was pretty unconvinced by

And just think about it, since most of what medical data already exists comes from the ill and injured, routine physicals of healthy people could very well provide the most useful data of all.

I was pretty unconvinced by

Michael Maiello — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:21:23 +0000

In reply to I definitely have mixed

I was pretty unconvinced by the "let's not get physicals" argument. There are actually a lot of years where, if I don't go in for my annual physical, I might not even see a doctor. Not sure that's a great thing.

I definitely have mixed

EmmaZahn — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:46:57 +0000

In reply to Let’s (Not) Get Physicals

I definitely have mixed feelings. She right given the state of play in US healthcare that most of the physicals and resulting tests are a waste of time and money. But they don't have to be.

We are missing a tremendous opportunity to collect information and learn more about human health and afflictions that could benefit us and future generations as well. It would not have been possible in the past to manage the volumes of data collected but now we can. For example:

Sergey Brin's Search for a Parkinson's Cure | Wired Magazine | Wired.com:

"This isn’t just another variation on venture philanthropy—the voguish application of business school practices to scientific research. Brin is after a different kind of science altogether. Most Parkinson’s research, like much of medical research, relies on the classic scientific method: hypothesis, analysis, peer review, publication. Brin proposes a different approach, one driven by computational muscle and staggeringly large data sets. It’s a method that draws on his algorithmic sensibility—and Google’s storied faith in computing power—with the aim of accelerating the pace and increasing the potential of scientific research. “Generally the pace of medical research is glacial compared to what I’m used to in the Internet,” Brin says. “We could be looking lots of places and collecting lots of information. And if we see a pattern, that could lead somewhere.”

In other words, Brin is proposing to bypass centuries of scientific epistemology in favor of a more Googley kind of science. He wants to collect data first, then hypothesize, and then find the patterns that lead to answers. And he has the money and the algorithms to do it."

Let's do the physicals -- but instead of just filing away the data, use it like Brin is doing. And while I am advocating, let's set up diagnostic clinics to do them. If anything needs attention, patients can be given the diagnosis and provided with information on further tests and treatment alternatives (like what Mayo and others already provide online). Then the patient can make an informed choice on whether or not to let an unscrupulous practitioner rip off them and their insurance company.

The thought of losing such potentially useful information is very unsettling.

dagblog - Comments for "Let’s (Not) Get Physicals"

Thanks.

Emma, you wrote: routine

And just think about it,

I was pretty unconvinced by

I definitely have mixed