Paul Howard and David Gratzer, MD write

Last month, Apple released its new iPhone, a faster and more powerful version of its ever popular computer-phone. It’s a remarkable device – particularly remarkable given that its machine ancestors were large and expensive, often filling whole buildings yet able to crunch fewer numbers than your average “app”. But, thanks to careful government planning and strict regulations, the computer industry has evolved at an extraordinary pace, from multi-ton mainframe to cool, hand-held gadget.

Except, of course, the smartphone revolution has been unguided by the hand of government planners. There is no central committee to steer consumers towards good hand-held devices and away from bad knock-offs. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem with President Obama’s appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick, a Harvard pediatrician and health-policy expert, to run the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. To Dr. Berwick, there are two worlds: one in which brilliant intellects like – say – Dr. Berwick turn chaos into order, and our current health care system, where blind chaos rules.

Read the whole article: Donald Berwick’s Five-Year Plan v. the iPhone.

Image: openclipart.org.