I signed up for a new health service earlier this year. It is a subscription to doctor access, outside of the insurance system. I did it because I was having trouble finding a doctor who would see me, and while I still haven't had an in-person examination, I have had a battery of blood tests done, as well as a full genetic sequencing, as part of my initial onboarding process. The health issues that I was experiencing mostly dissipated by the time I got started with them, having been caused by lactose in vitamins I was taking. So my urgent issue was solved, but it has been interesting to observe the process of being a member of this organization. My first and only in-person interaction, when I went to get my blood drawn, was quite the story.
I had been waiting for the Sacramento location to open, and signed up for an appointment as soon as they became available, so in hindsight I may have been their first or second customer at that facility. The office was in east Sacramento that didn't have a direct route from my house, making it an hour long journey to get there. When I arrived, there was basically no reference to the fact that I was in the right spot. I found an office door with the right logo on it, and upon opening it, and found myself looking into an empty lobby with a single stanchion with a sign on top that said "Welcome, Please proceed to the next room." I could see through an open doorway, another larger room, with a single Conex sized object in the middle, on a raised platform.
So, feeling like I was in some sort of sci-fi movie, I approached at and saw a single doorway in the side, with a screen and keypad next to it. I stepped up onto the pedestal, and saw that is said to enter my phone number. Once I keyed it in, it told me to enter the code I had just been texted. My phone buzzed, and once I had entered the code, the door unlocked, and slid open to the side. I stepped inside, and the door slid shut behind me. Inside was a larger screen in a wall that obscured my view of the rest of the room, but when I peeked around it to the left, I saw a large chair facing a much larger screen. A voice told me to press anywhere on the screen to continue. I walked up to the large screen and touched it with my finger. No response. The voice continued to prompt me to touch anywhere on the screen. I pushed harder, but no luck. Great, I am locked in a computer controlled box that is erroring out. How do I even get out of here? I went back to examine the door, and noticed the screen I stepped around when I came it. In a moment of inspiration, I touched it. "Welcome Michael..." Finally, we are getting somewhere. I was worried for a minute there, but maybe this will be fine. "...and place them on the hooks to your left. When you are ready, step onto the circle in front of the chair, to prepare for the body scanning process." Wait, did it just tell me to take my clothes off? "Repeat!" Nope, not voice activated. I think it just wanted me to take my jacket off. I'm not sure, but I am going to error on the side of less embarrassing misunderstanding. So I took off my jacket, placed it on the hook, and stepped onto the circle.
I was prompted to spread my arms, and unexpectedly, the circle I was standing on rotated either direction as cameras, created a 3D model of my body on screen. It was definitely lumpy and "clothed" but that ship had sailed. I was then instructed to sit down and watched a presentation about what was possible to do with the health information they were gathering. I knew that a blood draw was coming, and was very conscious that there was a panel in the wall to my left, and I was just waiting to see if some robotic arm came out of it to work on me. It is a bit of a blur, but the chair may have taken my blood pressure, which would have been artificially elevated at the thought of what may be to come.
Eventually I was told that is was time for the blood draw, and that "Maxine" would be assisting me. As a GTC attendee, I am aware that is the name for one of NVidia's AI assistance technologies, so this didn't settle the question of whether a real live person would be involved. It then warned me that Maxine would be entering from the left. A door in the wall opened, and thank goodness a human being stepped through. After introducing herself, she began to prepare me for the blood draw using gear from a drawer that had extended from the wall next to me, where I was anticipating a robotic arm potentially appearing. I told her I was relieved to see another person in this isolated little chamber, and confirmed that I was in fact supposed to keep most of my clothes on for the body scan. "It is probably less accurate that way, but my job would be much different if the patients were all naked." She asked me about the camp on my T-Shirt, and chatted, presumably to distract me, as she proceeded to get the sample she needed. She told me there would be a couple more things to do on screen before she left, and then I was once again alone in this chamber. The system presented a few more pieces of information, and then prompted me to collect my belongings and depart through the sliding door I had entered through.
I glanced around on my way out, without being too nosy. There was nothing else in the room besides me and this big chamber, so either "Maxine" had exited through a rear door and headed to another part of the building, or she must still be in there, in a smaller compartment in the back of the box, waiting for the next patient. Either way, it was kind of weird to think about. On the drive home I concluded that, as an introvert, I could get used to that form of healthcare, but that that would be very unhealthy, from a psychological perspective. Anyhow, that is still my primary healthcare provider, but everything else has been done with real people, via remote telehealth. But I am considering moving a more local and in-person solution, even if it costs more. At least I got a good story out of it.
