[extropy-chat] Health data

[Eliezer S. Yudkowsky]

Damien Sullivan wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 16, 2006 at 12:02:14PM -0700, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
> 
>>...didn't Robin Hanson just get through presenting the evidence that 
>>increased healthcare spending does squat to decrease mortality?
> 
> Yep.
> 
> Did that cause anyone to decide to not go see the doctor the next time
> they're sick?  Will you, Eliezer, skip the doctor's office?  Will Robin
> refrain from taking his children there (assuming his wife would let
> him)?

It's certainly causing me to be more cautious around the prospect of 
surgery.  If at least some doctor visits are effective, that implies 
that some of the visits are anti-effective - costly and harmful - to 
balance out the effective visits.  I believe the statistic is that 
one-third of hospital deaths are iatrogenic.

-- 
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky                          http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence