Hacker News Reader

Comment by fredsmith219 | Hacker News Reader

Having trouble taking satisfactory breaths while laying flat? See a doctor. Feeling out of breath abnormally while working out? See a doctor. Got an Apple Watch? Just for kicks take your ekg. It is crude but can detect abnormal heart rhythms.

View on HN

You probably know this, but for anyone else reading - I have an Apple watch that has the EKG. It is a two-contact EKG, so it's limited in what it can see. It also requires you to actively look at it (you have to touch the crown while it's reading).

It did successfully diagnose a bout of bigeminy that I had, but unfortunately my cardiologist didn't think it was important, and I ended up having a heart attack anyway. But I lived, and now I have a new cardiologist, so there's that.

Isn't that something that you could sue for?

I do wonder how it must feel to be a doctor who is one bad call away from being sued or revoked.

what's the alternative in practice; having no recourse if a negligent doctor maims or kills you?

There's a big difference between negligence and making a good-faith decision based on training and experience that later turns out to be wrong.

Actual negligence should, of course, absolutely be punished.

Well said.

Is it just me or is this such a stereotypical American comment?

I’m not american and thought this would be a good generic word to convey “getting some answers/justice”.

I’ve had so many infuriating encounters with dismissive doctors, that I fear I’ll get into a similar situation.

The healthcare system is really strained, but does it have to give them the right to not take your “only annoying, not life threatening” level of simptoms seriously?

I do not have the resources to go for three different doctors to really make sure they are right about telling me “just don’t worry about it..”

Maybe in the US, probably not anywhere else. You'd have to prove actual negligence, and in this case, it's quite possible the doctor's decision was reasonable. Benign abnormal heart behavior is pretty common.

Not a lawyer so this is only anecdotal but It is actually very hard to sue a doctor unless its egregious to my understanding and your rewards are limited to the point where most lawyers are hesitant to take the case due to that. Have a family member that got a colonoscopy and the doctor commented after that there was a bit of a tough time getting it in but he just pushed a little harder and all was fine. That push actually perforated the bowel and he got sepsis and spent 3 weeks in the hospital and many months with a coloscopy bag. No lawyer would take the case.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com