Gerhardus Diana
Trinity University, Healthcare Administration Program, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
J Healthc Manag. 2003 Jul-Aug;48(4):242-51.
According to L. Wiley Nifong, director of robotic surgery at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine, "Nationally, only one-fourth of the 15 million surgeries performed each year are done with small incisions or what doctors call 'minimally invasive surgery'." Robots could raise that number substantially (Stark 2002). Currently, healthcare organizations use robot technology for thoracic, abdominal, pelvic, and neurological surgical procedures. Minimally invasive surgery reduces the amount of inpatient hospital days, and the computer in the system filters any hand tremors a physician may have during the surgery. The use of robot-assisted surgery improves quality of care because the patient experiences less pain after the surgery. Robot-assisted surgery demonstrates definite advantages for the patient, physician, and hospital; however, healthcare organizations in the United States have yet to acquire the technology because of implementation costs and the lack of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval for using the technology for certain types of heart procedures. This article focuses on robot-assisted surgery advantages to patients, physicians, and hospitals as well as on the disadvantages to physicians. In addition, the article addresses implementation costs, which creates financial hurdles for most healthcare organizations; offers recommendations for administrators to embrace this technology for strategic positioning; and enumerates possible roles for robots in medicine.
东卡罗来纳大学布罗迪医学院机器人手术主任L. 威利·尼方表示：“从全国范围来看，每年进行的1500万例手术中，只有四分之一是通过小切口或医生所谓的‘微创手术’完成的。”机器人有望大幅提高这一比例（斯塔克，2002年）。目前，医疗保健机构将机器人技术用于胸科、腹部、盆腔和神经外科手术。微创手术减少了住院天数，而且系统中的计算机能够过滤医生在手术过程中可能出现的手部震颤。机器人辅助手术提高了护理质量，因为患者术后疼痛减轻。机器人辅助手术对患者、医生和医院都显示出明显优势；然而，由于实施成本以及美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）尚未批准将该技术用于某些类型的心脏手术，美国的医疗保健机构尚未采用这项技术。本文重点探讨机器人辅助手术对患者、医生和医院的优势以及对医生的不利之处。此外，本文还讨论了实施成本，这给大多数医疗保健机构带来了财务障碍；为管理人员接受这项技术以实现战略定位提供了建议；并列举了机器人在医学领域可能扮演的角色。
