Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Doctors have to play a whole metagame

I really detest this idea that blatant manipulation is necessary from people we are supposed to be able trust. How about this instead, where the doctor provides information and a plan of action instead of manipulation:

Doctor 3: "Stomach problems are common, they may or may not be caused by the most popular triggers, and they might go away on their own by coincidence. Here's the decision tree we can follow, which will let us know if we need to do more..."




Plenty of doctors do explain all of this, but people hear what they want: did the doc affirm or contest my theory? Did they "do anything"? (recommend surgery, prescription, diet, etc)


I wonder if it would help if the plan of action was always conveyed in written form, as well as verbal.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: