Man saves wife’s sight by 3D printing her brain tumor

Re:Man saves wife’s sight by 3D printing her brain tumor by webXL on Wednesday January 14, 2015 @11:18AM (#8887177)

Devil's advocate: one man's cure is another's demise. The vast majority of people know how to regulate their consumption of those not-so-bad things, but regulating their consumption of healing technology without understanding the potential downsides is what the powers at be are concerned about.

But I generally agree with you, it is an allocation problem, and the best way to allocate resources is removing arbitrary barriers to trade and promoting specialization. We're overly concerned about what might kill us and hardly concerned about improving the overall quality of our lives. The latter makes the former easier to deal with, but the need to feel safe and taken care of trumps freedom, I guess.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Man saves wife’s sight by 3D printing her brain tumor by drzaiusapelord on Wednesday January 14, 2015 @12:39PM (#8887737)

I've had stomach trouble my whole life. It was a Big Deal for my uninsured parents to get me Zantac. It involved a script from a specialist and paying out the inflated cost at the pharmacy. This was done for my safety, afterall, the industry and doctors were worried about risk, right? I'm just a dumb patient. What could I know compared to the experts, right?

Zantac can now be gotten OTC for next to nothing. Its completely safe. There was no patient risk for this drug. Same when I had to ask a doctor for Claritin. It also is safe as an OTC drug now. Meanwhile, we have research that shows that even a slight overdose of acetaminophen can seriously damage your liver.

The whole system is about maximizing profits for healthcare. It has very little to do with outcomes or patient safety. This is why so many people aren't getting the care they need. The industry is too busy creating "make work" for profits.

[ Parent | on HN ]