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One way that you can identify rent-seeking disguised as safety is to compare the degree of risk considered acceptable across industries. For example, you can bu
by 015UUZn8aEvW 4y ago
One way that you can identify rent-seeking disguised as safety is to compare the degree of risk considered acceptable across industries. For example, you can buy and use a chainsaw and similarly-dangerous power tools with basically no constraints whatsoever. But chainsaws are definitely more dangerous than CPAP machines or many prescription-only drugs. I'm sure that professional tree clearing companies would like it if everyone except them was banned from engaging in their line of work, but that's not the case because they have less effective lobbyists than doctors have.
- plagiarist 4y agoI think it is extremely important that medical devices are open, especially data, to prevent rent-seeking on the people who need them to live. However, if I manufactured, say, an insulin pump, there is no way I would allow it to ship with user-configurable settings in a country as litigious as the US. CPAP seems less risky, but not worth chancing anything. The US market seems to be the primary target for many medical devices, the UK might be receiving CPAPs developed primarily for the US court system.
- xattt 4y ago> But chainsaws are definitely more dangerous than CPAP machines or many prescription-only drugs. The elements of direct and indirect dangers are more apparent and immediate with a chainsaw than say, unscrupulous use of an SSRI, a bronchodilator or a high-potency NSAID like diclofenac.