can i see your screen, doc?

wired recently published an article on putting sticker prices on the medical industry; it's a bold move with powerful implications for health care that would affect each and every one of us.

bad science posts all sorts of interesting things, but the letter regarding tamiflu is a great synopsis of all that is wrong with corporations and governments not exposing data that would allow for public oversight.

there are very clever things that can be done when industries are forced to operate with a reasonable level of transparency, but we shouldn't need to hack the system, which is what trotter's referral scanning does. not that that's not a good idea.

proper industry transparency (on trials, not on trade secrets) would also give enough insight into the doings of companies involved in GM. food and drugs should be tested responsibly, and at the end of the day even if the results aren't amazing the consumer (and industry experts) would be able to make smarter, better, more personalized choices, which should be in the industry's interests.