Finally, a practical application of "compassionate conservatism": Anyone who has visited a loved one in the hospital in recent years knows that these days medical care-givers are more concerned about not getting sued than about their poor patients. Inanimate objects are less likely to get hauled into court and operate at lower overhead thereby improving the bottom line. Simply brilliant:
A study conducted at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore found that robotic telerounding may significantly reduce the length of stay of patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery if used to supplement standard postoperative visits, or “rounds,” made by surgeons.
“One of the crucial keys of delivering the high-quality care patients have come to expect at Sinai is communication. The technology used in the robotic telerounding offers both physicians and patients increased access to each other beyond traditional in-room visits,” said Alex Gandsas, M.D., lead investigator and head of the Division of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Sinai Hospital.
The 5-foot, 5-inch robot, displaying the doctor’s face on a 15-inch screen, is guided by a joystick from a computerized Control Station in patient rooms, emulating an on-site experience. With on-board, two-way cameras, microphones, and wireless technology, physicians are able to review charts, current lab work and X-ray results without physically being in the hospital.
