A quickie, i haven´t read it yet and won´t in the near future:

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) published a report labelled “The Impact of Calibration Error in Medical Decision Making” where, using as example clinical tests for measurement of calcium levels in blood, an analysis is made of the impact of device calibration in the desicion making, and in general the costs, related to the health care system. One-phrase summary:

..calibration errors in measurements of calcium levels in blood may add between $60 million and $199 million to U.S. health care costs annually..

Read the report release news here.