I wonder if it is time the undergraduate and postgraduate medical education courses include a 2 week (or more depending on marketing potential) period of posting of students to nearby business school to harness their marketing skills as we now have an array of marketable products needing marketing skills to attract customers. I also wonder if greed is a necessary motivation factor for progress and innovation in the medical industry 'cause I am unable to understand the 10 fold variability in pricing for hip replacement!

Competing interests: None declared