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Boxed Doctor

I like the idea of a doctor-in-a-box instead of a PCP given that I have not found one in the last two decades that I like or trust. It's been an unending series of bad first-dates trying to find one that is right for me. While not everyone is like me, I do believe there is enough of us to have such a box concept even worth bringing to market. 

the CarePod is an attempt to fully automate a check-up: A patient approaches the metallic, square 8x8 foot box, which is eight feet by eight feet, and unlocks it with their phone. Once inside, they find a chair and a large screen, where a robotic voice walks them through a body scan or blood pressure reading or finger prick blood draws — all of which they do on their own.

I know the risks I have based on my family history and try to do what I can to manage and minimize them. I also know that I do not want to go on medications unless that is last and only resort. What would help me most is to have a set of performance metrics determined for me that I can monitor on my own and get help if things are out of threshold. The box-doc seems to be a good solution for me. 

“Primary care is very tough to get for many people,” said Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University. But he was skeptical of Forward’s approach.

“The solution then isn't to go to jukebox medicine,” said Caplan. Part of the problem, he said, is what gets lost when you take human interaction out of the equation. “Very few people are going to show up at primary care and say, ‘My sex life is crummy, I'm drinking too much, and my marriage is falling apart,” said Caplan. It takes a doctor picking up on cues and going through a “sophisticated interview” to tease out things that patients don’t want to divulge, he said.

That sounds all dandy to have a doctor who has the time and incentive to do what Caplan is talking about. I have not found a PCP in the last couple of decades that was any better than a bot. I have always felt invisible and irrelevant to the doctor who arrives 15-30 minutes late to the appointment and leaves early because they are truly uninterested in me at a human level. A "sophisticated interview" sounds like an absolute fantasy. 

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