Major medical provider drops patient for not having a Android or iOS device | Hacker News Reader

Major medical provider drops patient for not having a Android or iOS device

mastodon.social

92 pointsleotravis1027 comments

Yikes, that's bad. I have no device, but I suspect my time is running out on multiple fronts.

My employer (a major university) is moving the id card system (required for building access) to an app. I will still supposedly be able to get a physical card, but it will require approval from my dean, and who knows how long that will last.

All the local taxi companies went bust during COVID and I don't have a car. Lyft no longer lets you book a ride online -- you need an app. Uber still does, but for how long?

There are a lot of random services nowadays that require an app. The bikeshare in town, the nursing stations at airports. I just don't use that stuff. But my sense is it's spreading.

My medical company is always sending me weird notifications as MMS. I can't read them, no idea what they say. Some kind of appointment pre-registration I guess. I ignore them and so far it's been fine. Who knows.

At my institution, we are moving away from an app for everything, and towards putting services on web-browser accessible sites. So one may require different 'sites' but only one 'app'.

Can you use an Android emulator with Lyft and Uber or do they detect that and stop it? Wouldn't be the most convenient thing but might make things easier than forgoing the services.

If true it's extra funny because behind the scenes medical in the US uses a hamstrung infrastructure with faxing, printing, scanning, and probably smoke signals.

Don’t forget the CDs with imaging.

Fax machines.

We got my spouse’s full medical records from Kaiser (HMO) when we moved to another area and changed our insurance. We brought them on a CD into the doctor’s office expecting they’d just dump them into their system in case the doctor ever wanted to check the history for something in the future (e.g. by searching for the name of a condition or medicine, etc). Nope. They literally just printed all 300+ pages and handed it to the doctor. Doc took one look at it and was like, “LOL I’m not reading that” and tossed it. There was no point in even giving them the data because they couldn’t simply store it electronically for reference.

The convenience we demanded is now mandatory. If only someone had tried to warn us 30 years ago against proprietary tech controlled by corporations.

I was about to write a snarky comment about calling a taxi cab by writing a letter instead of using a landline phone but then I remembered that we used to have public phones…

Not in the US, but my healthcare provider has dropped all digital services from their website and expect you to do everything on their apps.

Obviously they don’t have the know-how to produce a good app. All the stuff html and a browser gave you for free is out the window.

That's pretty disturbing. I can't imagine being refused medical service because I didn't accept an Apple or Google EULA/ToS. Truly ominous.

>To use the Mastodon web application, please enable JavaScript. Alternatively, try one of the native apps for Mastodon for your platform.

But why? I can only assume it's just a bunch of text.

If I'm not mistaking adding /embed to mastodon links makes it possible to see them without js

https://mastodon.social/@lrvick/112079059323905912/embed

I assume because the servers only expose an API rather than endpoints that render HTML. Probably simplifies things not having to render both client and server side.

>But why?

Modern Web3 devs don't know how to program without first installing twelve dozen JavaShit frameworks.

I'm probably only half joking.

Or, you know, it’s a volunteer run open source application that has prioritised development according to need.

A lot more difficult to be snarky about that, though.

Or it might have been a conscious choice? If you’re building a new app duplicating your frontend just to appeal to a tiny insignificant minority seems wasteful?

You can use any client you like for Mastodon (usually even without logging in, I think that is a server setting) - but by browsing to the instance's domain with a web browser, you're getting a copy of the latest web client, which may have requirements you don't like or can't fulfill.

It’s really mystifying how we ended up in a world where most of the apps are built with web technologies anyways (Electron, Cordova, React Native etc) and yet these companies won’t just make the actual web a target for their code as well, and one possible option for you to use. How does it require an “app” to order a damn sandwich, or to fill out doctor forms, receive appointment reminders, etc.

Well, I can’t imagine swimming against the tide to the degree I’m giving up my smart phone personally, almost nothing I can think of should require an app or a certain brand of phone today when the Web exists and has never been more powerful!

What infuriates me is that often these "services" could be easily served through a simple web app. Provide a link or a QR code, let folks open the URL wherever they like, and stop bitching. But no, everybody requires a freaking native app now because it's the best way of locking people in and scooping up data even when their browser is closed.

The EU needs to forge a law that forces providers of vital services to ALWAYS, no matter what, provide browser-based options, as well as low tech options for people who don't have access to any device.

Those who only provide a Google/Apple option and refuse the service to anyone who doesn't fit in those sets, while providing a service that could be easily served by a web app, ought to be fined.

> What infuriates me is that often these "services" could be easily served through a simple web app. Provide a link or a QR code, let folks open the URL wherever they like, and stop bitching. But no, everybody requires a freaking native app now because it's the best way of locking people in and scooping up data even when their browser is closed.

It gets even worse when your realise the "native" app is actually a WebView loading HTML/CSS and invoking methods bound to the OS, so you're really running the equivalent of a PWA that can still run in the background, and doesn't adapt to native gestures, actions or design

Not for a medical service, but I have spent ~$90 on a used iphone before that I just use for something that needs a mobile app.

They make excellent sitting-in-a-cupboard phones.

There needs to be a federal law banning this crap. I use a flipper zero to enter/exit from my apartment to avoid their app for example.

Both accepting cash and not requiring the use of customer provided electronic technology should be enforced by law, even as a fundamental right.

There is surely a simple reason for this, like some app for the both platforms being incompatible with others.

Whatever it might be, each company and individual is free to choose where he/she/it goes, to whom it speaks, how it's spend it's money or even decide on who to serve and who not. There's no right for being talked to or to be done business to. Just slurp it down and go to next hospital.

Without details I’m not believing this. Almost all medical providers I’ve dealt with are paper-based operations. It’s been an uphill battle to go digital.

If medical provider is privately owned then it is legal but if it is state owned then it is illegal. But this is deeply troubling and disturbing practice.

Just so I understand:

Does that mean this person doesn't have a phone, or that they use another more niche mobile OS that's not supported ?

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