Gregory's Server@lrvick what?? Why on earth would you need an Apple or Google device?
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73 comments
@BenAveling @Jennifer There are no medical devices involved. They said they only willing to communicate, schedule, and exchange medical information with patients with their apple/google mobile app moving forward, even if it means terminating relationships with existing patients. I even offered to show up in person for every communication, and they refused. @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer 1 in 3 seniors does not even own a smartphone. I don't understand how this could be even economically feasible, let alone legal. What's the company?  @neilk @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer I’m old but was a software engineer for Apple products so live on my iPhone (like now). But parents & in-laws could never use any mobile phone, either to keep it charged or dial with the tiny keypad, much less use a smartphone. Medical providers have to accommodate such people, or tell the world they’re not going to care for elderly people 🙁 @PenguinToot @neilk @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer I'm assuming elderly people are more expensive customers, as a health provider. From a stricly financial point of view, a measure that allows you to discriminate them while calling it a technical limitation sounds quite tempting. (no idea whether it's legal or not anywhere, tho, but it's certainly very questionable ethically)  @PenguinToot @neilk @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer No medicine-for-profit company wants old people with their measly Medicare reimbursements and lots of chronic illnesses. Better to get the cases of tennis elbow paid for by employer plans. If they can be made to exit the rolls simply by requiring use of a mobile phone, that's cost savings that goes right to the CEO's Ivory Backscratcher fund. @RealGene Both probably are factors in this move. The only thing for certain is that medical care is not at all about care anymore. @neilk @PenguinToot @BenAveling @lrvick @Jennifer I’m sure that they consider dumping elderly and indigent patients a feature, and not a bug. @neilk @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer older people are less healthy = more costly for healthcare providers, if this "excuse" goes through they'll start doing it on purpose.  @neilk @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer It might be intentional, to whittle down their patient base to people who are younger and less likely to be on medicare/medicaid.  @neilk @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer yep my neighbors boyfriend has one so he helps her but I also help her out. She had to take an ambulance a couple months ago and the only way to pay the bill is either by mail or online. The post office is still broken, it will never be fixed again, so she didn’t want to mail it. That and she needs to have her receipt for her Deduction of medical expenses from her rent and she wasn’t sure she would get a receipt back that way.  @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer There isn’t even a suitable web experience? (Putting aside that even that isn’t good enough of course), it’s installed app or bust? That’s crazy. @philip @BenAveling @Jennifer We asked this, and they said webapp was not an option. Android/Apple device/app or GTFO. @lrvick @philip @BenAveling @Jennifer That's disgusting. I'm so sorry. My providers have web portals but don't require you to use any of it. They're trying to root out the patients they won't get as much from. This sucks, because others will start if they see it working.  That is NUTS. There's no logical or technological reason for such a decision. jfc... 😠  @lrvick @BenAveling that is so unethical! Might be a long shot, but send an email to the Verge and Ars Technica. They cover all kinds of tech news and have big audiences. @nilay_patel is on here but don't know how active he is. @lrvick sorry you’re dealing w this. if this is in the US - providers can not discriminate based on sex, race, and ethnicity. Beyond that they can pick and choose patients at their discretion. Your local newspaper and news station might be interested to hear. I wonder if this could be argued that it creates a monopoly. Orgs/companies like AARP, Jitterbug, your email provider would/could help fight.  You haven't said which country you are based in, but under USA law, UK law, and EU law, it's called "tying" and is illegal under the anti-monopoly legislation. This is one of the things that the #FAANG 's are being sued over right now. :D Matt Stoller would be able to point you to someone who could help. Also, under UK law, there's disability accessibility requirements, hence the req's for a web interface for the NHS systems. Cory Doctorow is another person who would be able to point you to someone who could help.  @lrvick Terrible. I'm seeing more and more health providers and other businesses trying really hard to get people to install & use apps and I just won't do it. 🤬 @BenAveling @Jennifer  @Nonya_Bidniss @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer My health insurer keeps nagging me to visit their portal for reasons. No. @Nonya_Bidniss @lrvick @BenAveling @Jennifer It's also worth remembering that most of the mobile apps are just a html/web interface which uses a click-agreement wrap-around, so they can't be legally reverse-engineered, so security through obscurity. The bonus for the service providers is that they can require the mandated use of arbitration rather than the courts through any changes in the ToS agreements. Don't agree, and you don't get to use the service. So... they're using a third party app to keep customer data safe? Or is this an in house app by the medical provider... Either way I'm sure that app provider has nothing but the most top notch security in place, and this totally wont end up biting them in the ass.  @tphinney @Jennifer Exactly this, and they chose to introduce it months after I became a patient, having known from the outset that I do not have or want a Google or Apple device. I gave up my smartphone 3 years ago, and am a lot happier being disconnected when I am not at my desk. It would seem some don't consider this a valid lifestyle choice. This is the first time anyone has refused me services for not having a phone.  @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer I'm sympathetic. My wife has a device that doesn't require an app, but benefits from smartphone integration. At some point, I assume they will require one—and then what? I've boosted your post. Check out KFF Health News https://www.kff.org – they are like ProPublica in writing stories that are often partnered with major news orgs.  @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer Nothing like a medical provider electing to drop me as a patient, but last week I dropped off 3 boxes at FedEx in Walgreens and couldn't get a receipt because I didn't have a smart phone with me. They were prepaid returns worth several hundred dollars. People are being forced to have a smart phone on their person at all times to do ordinary everyday things. @chiffchaff @rob11563 @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that NO ONE MAY BUY OR SELL unless he has the mark, which is the beast's name or the number of its name.
This calls for wisdom: Let the person who has understanding figure out the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666. @chiffchaff @rob11563 @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer I mean, as long as it is a smartphone that you carry with you, the doomsday is not imminent, but once the smartphone is put into your forehead… @chiffchaff @rob11563 @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer the burger van is being dumb, why don’t they buy a $20 TracFone for folks who don’t have a smart phone so they can place an order if dudes won’t just go ahead and do it for you? I would have pressed them to give me a handwritten receipt. Hopefully you wont need it, though.   @SmartmanApps @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer @mapache @m0xee @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer @mapache That is horrible! What insurance provider is this? I can't believe they don't have a patient portal that you could access from your computer. Or email? Messaging on their website? Maybe an app for PCs in the Windows store? Nada? There really oughta be a law to enable you to fight this kind of discrimination. I hope you are able to sort this out soon.  @ginaintheburg @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer > Maybe an app for PCs in the Windows store? An app in a closed store for a huge tech giant because you don't want to be tied to two other huge tech giants isn't much of an improvement. @dascandy42 @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer You got me. But when the alternative is no insurance, eg, sometimes we find we have no choice but to bite the bullet. And that's no disrespect to @lrvick. I know he's far better informed and more sophisticated than I am about such matters. @ginaintheburg @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer I believe that the root of this was that you should not be tied to any given huge corporation to get basic things like health insurance... so yeah, I do think it's the same point. @dascandy42 @lrvick @tphinney @Jennifer I saw it as a problem of not being given options - which is what I thought @lrvick's main issue was.  Do note that writing an app costs ~~2 to 5 times as much as writing a web page, so the company spent a lot of extra money to enshittify their service. It's absolutely unconscionable, and probably would be completely prohibited in any developed country outside the United States |
@Jennifer Guessing, but suspect their device needs an ap and those are the only supported platforms.
@lrvick