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by elheffe80 2093 days ago
Sent me to the doctor, had surgery a few weeks later. Too many is OK IMO.
4 comments

Do you go to your doctor for an annual checkup? Was this something that could have been missed or something that is brought on suddenly?
> Do you go to your doctor for an annual checkup?

Doctors will rarely subject anyone to thorough evaluation for things if they aren't over the common danger age and don't report specific symptoms. Your typical annual checkup for people not 50+ is a fairly generic blood panel and very little else. After 50 they may add, what, a prostate probe for men?

On the other hand, I’ve found my doctor at least is very receptive to specific concerns and happy to offer advice on whether or not I should get additional tests. In a couple of cases he’s recommended against tests but I judged them to be worthwhile. Because I’m the one paying for it, he’s been fine with that.

I see a large part of a doctor’s job as being an expert consultant for an individual to make decisions about their own healthcare. Someone who is interested in and involved in their own risks is likely an extreme outlier to begin with.

Exactly.

In my life I've had one doctor who performed an EKG as part of my annual checkup, once.

The other ~10 primary care physicians I've had never did -- my annual was mostly just a few questions, some blood work, quick reflex tests and I think they looked in my ears and eyes.

If my Apple Watch detected a heart irregularity, I can say with certainty it's not something that would be caught otherwise at my next annual checkup.

At my last physical my doctor did an EKG. It was not requested by me. I guess it all depends on your doctor.
Really, ablation?
I mean it worked out for you but there are actual real deaths from overtreatment
And there are actual real deaths from undertreatment. You don't have any reported reason to believe that anyone is dying because of their Apple watch reports.
So long as it worked out for you, the costs everyone else bears is irrelevant?
non-backward societies take the successful bet than everyone bearing a bit of the cost is an overall win for the society.