Ethicist Art Caplan discusses the potential accuracy of a death clock app and the need for related health counseling.
I came across a really interesting app called the Death Clock. It is exactly what it sounds like. It basically is an app where you feed in all your health information, personal information, social information — any fact about you — and it promises to tell you your death date.
It basically is a forecaster of when you’re going to die. You might say, some people might have an interest in that. What’s the issue? Well, I think there are many issues. Should a patient come and ask you about this, I think you’d be wise to be ready to answer in case this app or others like it that are coming take off.The first problem is, can we accurately predict your death date, even given a whole array of personal information? I still don’t think so. There’s a disease called progeria where a 10-year-old can go through aging and end up looking like a 90-year-old at the age of 11. Then, there are clearly differences in the rates at which people age from midlife to old age. We don’t understand them well, but we’re learning. I think an app that says it can tell you your death date is not accurate. Some people aren’t going to want to know their death date without getting counseling. If someone asks if they should buy the app, I think either that company or you, as the doctor, had better be prepared to counsel them about what it would mean if it predicted an early death or a death that’s coming soon. Aside from fear and worry, what plans should they make?Should they fill out advanced directives? Should they not retire to Arizona sooner? They’re going to want information and counseling, and somebody has to provide it to them, and I don’t see this company doing that yet. People need to at least try to cope with bad news. Another reason the company says the app is interesting is it’ll push you to make lifestyle changes that will extend your death date.Indeed, they offer — I think it was for $50 a year, if I remember right — a program to counsel you, claiming to be targeted to your particular situation, so that you can live longer. I doubt that is necessary either. We all know how to counsel patients in terms of wanting to live longer.It’s simple steps. I don’t mean simple to do, but I mean five or six rules that hold up: lose weight, more exercise, moderate drinking, wear your seatbelt, don’t use recreational drugs in excess. We know what the tricks are if you want to add lifespan. I don’t think you need to sign up for anybody’s program yet. Probably the biggest worry I have is, who’s going to get all this information? I don’t trust this company not to resell. I don’t trust this company to protect individual identity. Even if they tried, with hackers and accidents, having this private company control identifiable information — boy, I think that’s a much bigger risk than any benefit you might get from having the death clock. Overall, I’m still not ready. I did take a peek at my own prediction. I’ve got some time left, which is good to know, but that was just curiosity so that I could talk to you about it. In general, I don’t think this is ready for prime time. I do think the downsides still outweigh the benefits, so I would be pretty cautious before I set the death clock with a patient.Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our
Healthcare And Medical Technology Health And Medical Tech Health And Med Tech Health And Medical Technology Healthcare Technology Mhealth Wireless Medicine Mobile Health Digital Medicine Future Of Medicine Wearable Technology Fitness Watch Pedometer Sleep Trackers Smart Watch Fitness Tracker Alzheimer Disease Alzheimer' Medical Ethics Lewy Body Dementia
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
SEEKING DEATH: ABC15 and ProPublica expose extreme secrecy in death penalty casesDave Biscobing is ABC15’s Chief Investigative Reporter.
Read more »
Restricting Student Cell Phone Use at School Could Benefit Kids: EthicistEthicist Art Caplan discusses legislative proposals limiting students’ cell phone use during school.
Read more »
Oscar Rosales given death penalty for Harris County corporal's shooting deathIn January 2022, Corporal Charles Galloway was shot and killed in southwest Houston while he was trying to perform a traffic stop.
Read more »
Cotton: ‘They Don’t Just Chant Death to Israel — They Chant Death to America’Source of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
‘Death to America’ means ‘death to America’Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government
Read more »
EU country asks Apple and Google to remove AI app from their app storefrontsAlan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon.
Read more »