TikTok-Famous Doctors Are Getting Into NFTs And It's A Mess (buzzfeednews.com) 53
A group of TikTok- and Instagram-famous physicians say they have a solution for the "red tape" of the current medical system: NFTs of cartoon doctors. From a report: These NFTs, called MetaDocs, are supposed to give buyers access to real doctors, almost like a Web3 telehealth subscription. When MetaDocs launched in December, it claimed that its legion of celebrity doctors, who have a collective social media following of 70 million and have included "Dr. Pimple Popper" Sandra Lee and plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Brown of TikTok fame, would all be available via DM, group "ask me anything" sessions, or one-on-one video chats to those who buy in. MetaDocs founder Dr. Sina Joorabchi hopes it will evolve into a full-fledged virtual clinic in the so-called metaverse, where patients can put on a haptic suit and be examined remotely by a physician in virtual reality.
But now, MetaDocs is facing backlash from the medical community, in part because it is not actually licensed as a telemedicine service and thus its doctors cannot legally make diagnoses, write prescriptions, or give personalized medical advice to anyone who buys a MetaDocs NFT. A further wrinkle: Doctors are almost always required to be licensed in a state in order to practice there, including through telehealth services. "At this point, we're hesitant to refer to anybody as a patient," Dr. Dustin Portela, a MetaDocs physician and practicing dermatologist, told BuzzFeed News. According to a recent white paper, the presale cost of a MetaDocs NFT will be 0.2 ETH, or about $570, though the company hasn't determined an exact price yet. But why would someone pay hundreds of dollars for a cartoon so they could "ask a doctor anything" if they are not seeking some form of medical advice?
But now, MetaDocs is facing backlash from the medical community, in part because it is not actually licensed as a telemedicine service and thus its doctors cannot legally make diagnoses, write prescriptions, or give personalized medical advice to anyone who buys a MetaDocs NFT. A further wrinkle: Doctors are almost always required to be licensed in a state in order to practice there, including through telehealth services. "At this point, we're hesitant to refer to anybody as a patient," Dr. Dustin Portela, a MetaDocs physician and practicing dermatologist, told BuzzFeed News. According to a recent white paper, the presale cost of a MetaDocs NFT will be 0.2 ETH, or about $570, though the company hasn't determined an exact price yet. But why would someone pay hundreds of dollars for a cartoon so they could "ask a doctor anything" if they are not seeking some form of medical advice?
Improve any scam by adding NFTs (Score:5, Insightful)
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"Doctors" selling snake oil and miracle cures are certainly one of the oldest phenomena the world of scamming knows.
Right up there with Politicians ...
Nope (Score:3)
I would rather go see Dr. Nick.
Why everytime there is an NFT news on ./ ... (Score:1)
Why don't I see something positive news associated with NFT? NFT cured cancer, world peace, saved the environment, the children, etc?
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Easy answer: there aren't any.
The tiny optimist inside me wishes to add "yet" to the phrase above, but the giant cynical jaded dude overshadowing him doesn't allow for such a ridiculous wish.
Re:Why everytime there is an NFT news on ./ ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Counterpoint: when was the last time you heard positive news about bowel obstruction? Some things are just shitty, and the best thing you will hear ever about them is "this shitty thing no longer exists."
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Because the positive sides aren't interesting.
The positive effect of NFT is mostly having a digital, distributed way to notarize or certify something. So everything connected to NFT that is not a scam is just plain boring. What was the last time any news outlet reported on someone getting a receipt for his rent paid?
So I'm not saying that NFTs are a scam, but I'm pretty sure that every news I read about them is about a con scheme. May be before or after it burst, but any legit use of NFT is not newsworthy.
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Oh and about some Tik-Tok-D-List medical "celebrities" selling cartoon doctor NFT... Yes, that's "newsworthy" by above definition....
Lawyers are gearing up as we speak (Score:2)
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Sounds like lawsuits waiting to happen. I wonder if the MD's insurance will cover it if they are practicing without a license in a state - I suspect saying "This isn't medical advice" when someone asks a medical question and you answer will not be much of a defense.
And to pay for these lawsuits, may I introduce you to our fine line of lawyer NFTs, each one guaranteed to retain an attorney.
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What if I call a out-of-state doctor for medical advice? He doesn't need to know where I'm calling from. Could he get in trouble for that, too? Shouldn't be the location of the practice be used to determine where he needs his license?
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What if I call a out-of-state doctor for medical advice? He doesn't need to know where I'm calling from. Could he get in trouble for that, too? Shouldn't be the location of the practice be used to determine where he needs his license?
As I understand it, it would depend on the licensing laws and any interstate compacts in force. My experience, working with MDs, is the second question they would ask is where are you calling from, though I doubt any would feel comfortable providing medical advice over the phone for a random caller that is not already a patient they know.
Barter Vs redtape (Score:2)
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There seems no way that adding NFTs to telemedicine makes any aspect of it better. It is "Snake oil, now with extra snakes (they're digital!)!"
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I don't understand how using an NFT removes any of the required redtape
It doesn't, its another solution in search of a problem.
Someone answer a question for me, please. (Score:2)
You want crypto advice? (Score:3)
Buy a tall building in Manhattan and turn it into a mausoleum. [nytimes.com] Penthouse crypts alone will pay for the whole thing.
Call it Manhasoleum.
Basic cemetery plots across the five boroughs now generally cost $4,500 to $19,000, not including hefty fees for foundations, interments and maintenance. The best deals can be found on Staten Island, where a grave site can be had for less than $3,000, but an increasingly rare final resting place in Manhattan can go for $1 million.
You and your associates owe me 10% for consulting fees.
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I got a solution (Score:4, Insightful)
How about if I show up needing medical care that I get it. Afterward, you send the bill to the taxpayer. Then there is only one payer and one set of forms and standards and you don't need a small army of staff at the office just to navigate insurance billing.
If I'm doing well and have a job, paying my taxes, then I'm paying for it indirectly. Not unlike how I indirectly pay for it already with the current patchwork of health insurance. If I'm not doing well, and not paying taxes, then I at least got prompt care instead of delays that are costly in terms of both life and money. Amputations, dialysis, and kidney transplant are all way more expensive than insulin, dietitian consult, and bariatric surgery. And more humane - reduces suffering and preserves dignity.
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A quick Google says the VA ranks similar to civilian medical providers in patient satisfaction and better in quality [patientengagementhit.com]. This matches my anecdotal experience that people in the VA system are generally pretty happy with it. They're certainly happy with the relative lack of paperwork.
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Kidding. I am Canadian, and our healthcare is light years ahead of the USofA.
For whoever is about to tell me how Canadians go to the US for healthcare. Whoever told you that is either lying, or it is such a seriously weird outlier as to make it statistically irrelevant.
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If you "show up" in such a system, you're not getting the medical care you need. You're getting in line to get the care you need. Unless it's an emergency, you'll be spending weeks, in some cases months waiting in line for the care you need.
Oh and you'll be paying the kind of taxes I pay. Not US level of taxes. You know, where your gasoline will cost per litre close to what US folks think a gallon should cost because of taxes.
So in actuality, you or your employer will end up paying separately for private he
cue typical Luckyo hot take (Score:3)
I've got an appointment in August for a new primary care physician after moving. I made the appointment in late February. This is a high deductible PPO plan. Not some wacky socialized medicine you seem to be yammering on about.
How can this be in the great old U.S. of A ? Simple, there are more people who need to see a doctor than there are doctors practicing. The differences we have are not in wait times, only in how extraordinarily more I pay.
And of course any system can be mis-managed, both privately or p
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I like how you adopted the same topic creation as Chinese bot that keeps posting on about every other post of mine with similar nonsense. At least you have self awareness of the quality of your posts.
Having dealt with this stupid level of snark, the question is "why isn't there a doctor willing to see you earlier"? What are you not telling us? What kind of a weird medical history do you have where whatever it is that ails you that is about primary care is ok to be delayed for five months?
Because when I had
not sure I understand the accusation (Score:2)
I'll answer because you were somewhat respectful in your response.
Yes, I can see a doctor at urgent care, no appointment required. Hardly any wait at all if I show up before 10am. Closed on arbitrary holidays, like Roman Catholic Easter. Of course I pay the urgent care rate for that, and I'm responsible for the first $5K of medical expenses before coverage begins. That's not counting prescriptions which are covered by a different plan. And non-prescription medication can be expensed through my pre-tax HSA a
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What I'm reading from your post is that "I have bad insurance that requires me to go to specific doctors in my area, and they are all booked and no one else wants me because there's no pay".
So basically you got the problems of private and public combined because you bought/got provided a bad plan. I sympathize. Insurance companies can be awful if you don't read a fine print and do a lot of research. It's one of the reasons I'm so anal about actually reading the fine print myself, including actually reading
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Oof, straight in the feels.
Good feels that is. Please cry more.
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I did break your AI, didn't I?
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Nice one!
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All private insurance (of any type) companies are awful (in the US). There is no such thing as a "good one" or even a remotely fair one. It's easy to get in to see A doctor. But this doctor may, or may not, be good enough depending on what you need. If you are vomiting or diarrhea-ing uncontrollably, sure, you can get seen today and get some meds to help. Need a non-emergency surgery of some kind? Well, that probably requires a specialist. And there is only one in the area. And their work location is 4hr aw
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I should add to my previous post that your story is almost a carbon copy of stories I see monthly on Finnish subreddit with psychological care. Where people get the "payment guarantee" paperwork from the public insurer because they actually need it after months of fighting... only to find out that there are no providers with slots for them. Because every provider prefers more wealthy and much less problematic young professional women with private insurance from their workplace, who alone are more than suffi
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Unless it's an emergency, you'll be spending weeks, in some cases months waiting in line for the care you need.
This is a lie.
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My father's hernia was taken care of last year. I totally lied.
Please ignore the fucking chunk of small intestine that's been hanging out of his lower abdomen for last half a year. Do you also walk to homeless in your native country on a cold day and taunt them about the cold weather?
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Unless it's an emergency, you'll be spending weeks, in some cases months waiting in line for the care you need.
The lie is that this is a universally true statement. That you think you're disproving my assertion with an anecdote is just icing on the cake.
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And at the risk of suggesting anecdotes mean anything, I had multiple hospital procedures scheduled and then conducted the next day for non-emergency things two years ago. Your statement lacks anything remotely approaching the number of qualifications or detail sufficient to grant your conclusions any support at all, despite the general conclusion of "neither fully public nor fully private are the best ways" being astoundingly uncontroversial.
Maybe I am getting old? (Score:3)
It's not brain surgery, well I guess in some cases it might be...
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It's a variation of either conceirge care or direct care [carecentrix.com], wherein you get more access to the doctors for an additional fee.
One of the additional features is more scam.
But bro... (Score:2)
If you NFT your docs, you get paid every time you get sick. That's sick, right?!
Plus, the more people NFT into docs, the more paid everyone is!
Had we had NFT docs before Rona, we'd all be on the Moon by now in our golden Lambos with daddy Musk!
We'd also be dead, but that's a small price to pay for the line to go up! [youtube.com]
Do you want apes or you want to live forever?!
Go watch an actual doctors take on this (Score:1)
rather then buzzfeed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Can you transfer them? (Score:2)
NFTs + Doctors (Score:2)
Hard NO