I recently got diagnosed with a condition (sleep apnea) which means I need to use a machine (CPAP) to have a proper sleep, probably for the rest of my life. The doctor wanted me use the device for a few months, and bring the “report” generated by the device to monitor my progress and discuss further treatment.
Sure, a report generated by the machine, it can’t be that complicated? - I thought - Access local server like a printer and download files - I guessed. However, as I consulted to the device distributors in my area… their sales pitch (disregarding the actual medical functions) were:
A) The machine is constantly connected via wi-fi or cellular to manufacturer('s server), and user only has to login to download the report file. User can also install an app for that. How convenient. /s
B) The machine has an SD card slot to which data is copied, but user have to bring its contents to the authorized distributor so they can convert them into a report file. You can send them by email. Wow. /s
Either choices seem like a nightmare to me.
Option A means it’s constantly phoning home. Who knows when it will be hacked? Of course the distributor will happily enter all my private info into the system without any fucking care. Of course they’ll redirect all inquiries to legal department. Of course the goddamn MBA suits were thinking “with this cloud shit we can have medical records for doctors and user data for sales! two birds with one stone baby!” while snorting cocaine up their buttholes.
Option B seems a little better, except that if I were to believe the poor salesman (who’s probably being paid to repeat whatever the training manual said) the contents must be in a proprietary/binary format which needs a specific program to convert it into a pdf or docx file for all I know.
I’m not even mad at this point. At the point of sounding like a cringe gamer youtube channel, I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS. I didn’t choose to have a condition that needs a machine to properly function in society, and for all I know of cybersecurity trends and willful negligence by both private and public institutions worldwide, this will end up badly. I bet healthcare-insurance companies in the US are already salivating at the trove of data.
Anyone on a similar situation like mine? I always felt healthcare institutions were always lagging heavily behind latest tech trends, but this is something that I am now facing personally, too.
Speaking of which, does anyone have more info on the specific situation I am facing? The manufacturers offering Option A is ResMed, while Option B are BMC or Yuwell. I’m about to go for Option B which means “lesser quality” chinese brands, but at least it’s not phoning home. Problem is the “SD card to report” part.
The nature of his medical condition isn’t relevant here. It could be his blood pressure, heart beats, whatever that makes an insurance company charge a premium on that poor sucker.
CPAP machines only do one thing.
I get your message, but I was not referring to the machine. I was referring that the what kind of data logged by the machine didn’t matter in the context of privacy.
The kind of data logged by the machine is how often they stop breathing, and how long they sleep. That’s literally all it does.
You can’t be concerned about the data it transmits and also say the data it transmits doesn’t matter in the context.
It’s not the collected data itself that’s the problem you dipshit. Don’t you know that distributors often make customers sign contracts at lease or purchase for warranty and tie that customer data along with statistics? You must be fun at parties.
I am fun at parties. I actually go to them. And I don’t worry about things like how much my freaking CPAP machine is spying on me lmao
No sense talking to a chatbot taking things literally at face value.
That’s true, I agree. Not sure what that has to do with anything here but ok.