[rscho]

Thank you! In my opinion yes, the medical hardware industry absolutely is milking their customer base. In ultrasound systems for example, you buy the machine equipped with the basic software at an already prohibitive price. After that, if you want to go beyond the basics, for example have the UI for cardiac measurements, you buy supplementary modules which are also very expensive although they are by now standard and well-known. I also think that the healthcare system does not lend itself too well to aggressive management models. It does not improve things to try to get people as efficient as possible in the management sense. For example, I think patients are far better off if nurses are let free to do their jobs and tend to the patients instead of imposing too much control on them. Now of course, there are financial imperatives, and technology could provide solutions to maintain/improve care while diminishing the staff numbers/costs. That is my opinion as a practicing clinician. Others may think differently.

[agumonkey]

Thanks a lot for the details. I want to respect everybody in every domains. But I can't bear the absurd blindness of the market hand when it comes to health and safety. Especially since today's tech makes it obvious that many important tools [1]can be made for very accessible prices. Haa politics. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on your page and the BIG too. I wish I could contribute there.

[1] firefighter came to help my mother suffering from cardiac pain, the EKG monitor couldn't grab a cellphone signal in my whole area. They can't interpret the plot without a doctor so it's basically useless. They told us this things weren't cheap. Yet it's less useful than a 100$ smartphone.