Forward Health launches CarePods, a self-contained, AI-powered doctor's office

[jaded]

What could possibly go wrong with an unattended AI running healthcare diagnostics in a shopping mall?

Forward Health launches CarePods, a self-contained, AI-powered doctor's office...

Don’t suppose anyone’s thought of this before…

[OhHai]

Adrian Aoun is quick to explain that he’s not a medical doctor. He’s a computer scientist specializing in AI.

…

“Basically, what I’m doing is slowly migrating every single thing from a doctor and nurse to hardware and software,” he said. “We don’t even believe a doctor’s office should exist. We think that it’s a thing of the past.”

This will end badly.

[docosc]

@OhHai

This will end badly.

It will for somebody. It might be me. (Nah, I’m close enough to retirement that it won’t get me. But still…)

[OhHai]

I was thinking more along the lines of a Theranos/Elizabeth Holmes ending, after a bunch of bad outcomes for patients.

[cleveremi]

I can think of a use for this! I periodically have to get my TSH checked, and possibly adjust my levothyroxine dosage based on the test.

Recently, I’ve had a physician’s assistant tell me that I don’t need that test, when I report that I feel the effects of low thyroid. I know it well, too well, because it lasted for close to a year, and then got better when I had the right dosage.

I’m now waiting on an appointment with a different doctor (in late December), who I hope will listen to the words that I say. I suspect that it had to do with the fact that I wore a mask during my visit, and my mask was the only one I saw that day. They literally said “you don’t have to wear that mask”.

I’m probably just salty because I paid $120 for the privilege of being told to go away and suck it up.

[jaded]

@OhHai

This will end badly.

Hell, it’s starting badly, and I see no path where it gets better!

[jaded]

I like how the techbro doubles down by comparing himself to Musk, and in a way that is completely ignorant of the last few years of his utter batshit craziness:

Aoun explained it like this: The doctor’s office was Forward Health’s Model S; the CarePod is the company’s Model 3. “Elon Musk started with the Model S, which led to his Model 3,” he said. “Our Model S was a high-tech doctor’s office in San Francisco, and we scaled it up to 20-25 cities. But a high-tech doctor’s office will never scale to the whole planet.”

If I was a potential investor, this would be my reaction:

(If I was an actual investor, I’d be panicking.)

[Brainspore]

@OhHai

“We don’t even believe a doctor’s office should exist. We think that it’s a thing of the past.”

Even if they somehow got the diagnostics to work flawlessly this is kind of like saying “an OBD code reader for your car will mean there’s no more need for auto mechanics to exist.”