“Some physicians warn that over-testing might lead to unnecessary medical interventions. Regardless of whether or not it’s wise to sidestep your doctor, there’s a lot of money betting that demand for personalized medical testing will continue to grow. The concept has attracted VC backing…”

“Hundreds of N.I.H. grants and clinical trials were cancelled, affecting thousands of patients. I worried about funding for leukemia and bone-marrow research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I worried about the trials that were my only shot at remission. “

“I watched from my hospital bed as Bobby, in the face of logic and common sense, was confirmed for the position, despite never having worked in medicine, public health, or the government…Suddenly, the health-care system on which I relied felt strained, shaky.”

“My son knows that I am a writer and that I write about our planet. Since I’ve been sick, I remind him a lot, so that he will know that I was not just a sick person.“

“During the latest clinical trial, my doctor told me that he could keep me alive for a year, maybe. My first thought was that my kids, whose faces live permanently on the inside of my eyelids, wouldn’t remember me.”

“Hundreds of NIH grants and clinical trials were cancelled, affecting thousands of patients. I worried about funding for leukemia and bone-marrow research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I worried about the trials that were my only shot at remission.”

Much like producing TV, really: “All of the structure she had created — exactly how everything would be prepared and what time — was not visible to her guests. So in a way she was the perfect hostess.”

My view on the JPM Wear Pink campaign: it would be great to know what all the men (and women) favoriting the posts and wearing pink have done to boost women in the life sciences of all ages. Otherwise, the manels et al continue apace.

I also like deBronkart’s idea: Give my doctor a second login to MY ChatGPT account - so he could “talk with it," asking things like “Why did you recommend X? Were you aware he's also got XYXYX?"

Some smart additional comments from Dave deBronkart, a patient advocate quoted in the piece:

“Dave deBronkart, a patient advocate who blogs about how patients can use A.I. for personal health, said chatbots should be compared with the healthcare system as it is, not some unrealistic ideal.

‘The really relevant question, I think, is: Is it better than having nowhere else to turn?’ he said.”

“Last year, about one in six adults — and about a quarter of adults under 30 — used chatbots to find health information at least once a month, according to a survey from KFF, a health policy research group.”