Monday, April 07, 2014

The Profit Motive


The profit motive, in the case of Apple, is OK. Build really good hardware, charge a righteous price for it and see if people buy, especially if you can deliver the goods in a timely and efficient manner, something Apple does in spades. The other part of the Apple equation is the fact you have a choice. You can buy other hardware to do the same work. It might not be as nice as Apple in look and feel but no big deal because digital is digital and Windows' apps are every bit as good as Apple's when it comes to getting the job done, but what does one do when one has no choice, where the price point is determined by little or no competition and where obfuscation is the rule, rather then the exception as seen in the incendiary NY Times article titled Even Small Medical Advances Can Mean Big Jumps in Bills





The reason for this price gouging abuse is, IMHO, the lack of transparency and real competition in medical, where closed, proprietary systems rule, where price points for office visits, hospital stays and surgery procedures are never disclosed beforehand and where patients, in many cases, are considered nothing but profit centers, able to be hosed price-wise when it comes to treating chronic illnesses like Type 1 diabetes. 

Change is coming, as seen in the BRT blurb titled Healthcare - Days of Future Past, because people will demand it, just as people demanded transparency and competition in tech when the web became real circa 1997. 

"And the beat goes on." - Robert E.

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