I spent a good number of years working on the Health IT side of things - as Technology Implementation Manager having built El Camino Hospital, as a Technology Designer for SF General, and in other capacities in building, designing, operational go-live etc for other hospitals....<p>One thing that I never hear discussed in these areas are the costs of technology sold to hospitals and the cost of consumables over time.<p>What was the price of aspirin in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010...<p>Or gauze, or many many other things?<p>What was the amount billed for that common thing that has been around for decades?<p>What is the meaning of a "hospital grade television"? and why is that device as more expensive than its consumer counterpart?<p>Look at all the technology systems and devices sold to hospitals... Yes I am familiar with the economics of them, and in many cases its BS.<p>(not all), but many.<p>Then look at the number of skilled employees that a hospital must employ for it to work - and look at their wages.<p>So, this article talks about the outcomes, and quality and volume of care, but doesnt <i></i><i>seem</i><i></i> to take into account the inputs of cost that are required for an organization to run.<p>Then, on top of that - these are companies, seeking to make profits - and the rates for coded services are a huge negotiation issue between insurance and the hospitals. Yet, I don't see any regulation for prices on standard services which is true and meaningful.<p>If there is one thing that the United States is masterful at doing: its lying to the population about the effectiveness of regulating the cost of a service in any industry, when simply looking at the regulation of service costs in any other comparable developed nation proves that NO regulation of costs is actually meaningfully achieved.<p>so, yes - tech will be on the upswing - but it has always been on the upswing, that never been a concern. What is NOT on the upswing is actual progress in health costs.