Forget the election, Automation of US medical is needed for economic survival

[IanD]

Everyone knows I was being facetious, I hope. 5G and Wi-Fi transmissions are too weak to charge a battery.

Probably not if you go climbing and hug the antennae on the mast... ;-)

 

[Arthur Hanson]

The bottom line is that US medical's main purpose is not prevention, but making money at all costs including the destruction of our economy. The average profit margin of a company is about seven percent net. The US can no longer afford a medical system or structure that takes twenty cents of every dollar, while giving us low quality care that results in a smaller and lower quality workforce. Sadly, US medical is the largest threat to our nation. US medical has to go risk based, otherwise all we do is reward bad health habits. Good health habits and fitness should be taught from first grade on. The tech sector has already given us many tools to manage our health with more on the way every year that can not only reduce costs, but give us a better, more fulfilling life.

 

[IanD]

The bottom line is that US medical's main purpose is not prevention, but making money at all costs including the destruction of our economy. The average profit margin of a company is about seven percent net. The US can no longer afford a medical system or structure that takes twenty cents of every dollar, while giving us low quality care that results in a smaller and lower quality workforce. Sadly, US medical is the largest threat to our nation. US medical has to go risk based, otherwise all we do is reward bad health habits. Good health habits and fitness should be taught from first grade on. The tech sector has already given us many tools to manage our health with more on the way every year that can not only reduce costs, but give us a better, more fulfilling life.

It's still nothing to do with "going risk based" or "not rewarding bad health habits" or "using new technology" or "improving doctor's practices" -- as you mention, the single fundamental problem with the US health system is that it focuses on profit not the health of citizens, it's capitalism in its purest form. Tech cannot fix this, no matter how many times you keep suggesting that it can.

Everything else springs from that, these are the same challenges that other healthcare systems around the world face with much lower costs and higher success rates than the US does. Yes these issues do have to be faced everywhere to make medicine more effective and keep rising costs under control and this is where tech can help worldwide -- and needs to given aging populations -- but the US system is crippled on top of this by having a massive "profit not patients" ball and chain round its ankle... :-(

 

[Arthur Hanson]

I hope one of the tech companies with the financial muscle will set up its own health program to save massively on medical costs. Only a few companies can be large enough to pull this off. I heard at one time Apple has tried this, but haven't heard what happened to the effort. I have no doubt US medical will view progress in this area as a threat not only to medical, but the insurance companies that profit from our severely broken model.