Re: COVID-19 testing

[jahoti]

On 8/20/21 1:41 AM, fischersfritz@sent.at wrote:
> jahoti writes:
> > a good strategy might be asking what to do if you don't have a mobile
> > phone (or pretending you don't).
>
> This already is my strategy, and it fails. I think the problem is
> that people don't know; that is, people without mobile phones are rare
> staff either were never told what to do about it or were told but
> forgot. They do try to advise me based on their own knowledge, beyond
> official instructions, but it is very hard for people who use
> smartphones to advise me on whether I need a smartphone, since there
> could be a small, forgettable step of the process that requires a
> smartphone.

Very true; I extend my greatest sympathies to you for dealing with that.

> jahoti writes:
> > Also, as stupid a question as it is, have you seen
> > https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/covid-19-testing-sites/#manhattan
> > ? If not, they might be useful, and if so then I concur with others that
> > a good strategy might be asking what to do if you don't have a mobile
> > phone (or pretending you don't).
>
> [snip]
>
> I considered not mentioning this point about the doctor's office, since
> one might see it as the fault of the office and not related to software
> licensing. However, I see it as a reflection of dependance on
> proprietary dis-services. I suspect most people in my position would
> have search with proprietary a search engine for something like "covid
> test in new york", and clicked on one of the proprietary pharmacy web
> pages, and signed up in a way that does not respect their freedom. If
> this is the common practice and office staff were not specifically
> informed of alternatives, it is only reasonable that staff would not be
> able advise me on how to get tested.

Indeed, it doesn't really seem fair to blame anyone except the software 
vendors and lawmakers for this (and, if they had any other feasible 
choice, the owners of the practice).

> Unfortunately, that webpage links to a proprietary disservice (MyChart)
> nominally managed by the NYC Health + Hospitals but truly managed
> by the company Epic. This disservice runs proprietary JavaScript.
> I could call some places to see if there is an alternative, but
> I suspect to encounter the same difficulties as everywhere else, so
> I think I will stick with my current plan rather than looking
> for other places.

That's a completely respectable decision, and if you take/have taken it 
I have nothing to offer except gratitude for you trying to bring light 
to a critical issue.

However, for any future people interested and you if you still have any 
interest, some other possibilities:
- I might have misunderstood the page, in which case I apologize; 
however, that webpage is nominally for walk-in testing which (at least 
to my assumption) means there's the option of just turning up and 
getting a test.

- if you have a community center or public facilities of some sort, that 
might be a better place to ask for "low-tech" options, as they probably 
need to support people who don't have those kinds of luxuries.

- While I have no idea how effective it would be in Manhattan, a 
last-resort option could be to call and suggest you think you have (or 
might have) CoViD-19. Where I am that will get you just about anything :).

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