An Uber-Style App For Health Care?

This article was originally published on my blog. For more, please visit randeastwood.com. Thank you.

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Smart phones have not only changed how we communicate, they're changing how we do things. They're changing our culture, our economy.

In light of this, I've often asked:"Why do we still have police officers patrolling everywhere, looking for trouble—often causing trouble themselves—when we all have cell phones now? Go back to the station. Have a donut. We'll call ya if we need ya."

I've also written about Peacekeeper (and, hopefully soon, about Cell 411 as well) the smart phone apps which enable users to create their own emergency response network, comprised of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers—you know, people who actually have our wellbeing at heart—and thus avoid calling 911 during an emergency and risk summoning police officers to our home (who do not, generally, have our wellbeing at heart). 

And, of course, the Uber and Lyft smart phone apps are undermining the monopolized taxi industry by enabling peer-to-peer ridesharing. The result? Much faster arrival, nicer/cleaner vehicles, friendlier drives, better service, and lower prices. In other words, a better way.

So it's no surprise that smart phone apps are now being considered as a potentially better way of acquiring individualized health care. In the following video, John Cochrane (The Grumpy Economist) compares the restrictions and regulations and monopolization of the taxi industry to those of the health care industry, and recommends development of Uber-like apps to enable individuals to access fast, affordable, quality health care, rather than tolerating the over-regulated, monopolized system we currently suffer with, or waiting for our overlords to give their blessing to changes or deregulation within the existing industry.

"I think the way Uber is revolutionizing taxi services is a really good model and really good story about how health care and health insurance might also be revolutionized." ~ John Cochrane