Johnson & Johnson are a manufacturer that produces medical devices, pharmaceutical, and consumer packaged goods. In the article I chose to examine, it talks about how they have agreed to buy $3.4 billion worth of robotic technology dedicated to medical procedures and surgery. Robotic assistance in surgery is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. healthcare industry within the past two decades. The reason why companies are willing to spend high amounts of money on this type of expensive technology is able to “mitigate human error and improve techniques and patient outcomes.” Robots nowadays are being used to perform surgeries such as removal of gall bladders and hysterectomies.
This article was brief and left me with many questions. For example, how big is the healthcare industry? According to another article that I found: “healthcare spending accounted for 18% of the nation's GDP in 2016, about $3.3 trillion.” This is one of the biggest markets in the country which helps explain why big companies such as Johnson & Johnson are able to spend so much on new technology. Another question that came to mind is how badly do they need this new technology?
Upon my investigation into this topic, I found a similar Wall Street Journal article that discussed the concerns that companies still have about robots. After a study was done by a consulting surgeon, he discovered that robotic technology in healthcare is simply just more expensive with results that do not make it worth it. This surgeon, named David Jayne conducted an experiment in which he compared the results of a laparoscopy, a fairly straightforward surgery, between a normal surgeon and a robot. What he discovered is that the surgeries essentially had the same results but the robot took 35 minutes longer and $1,300 more expensive. This is just one example of surgery, but when the procedure is more expensive than a normal surgeon then you would want it to be done in a shorter timeframe in order to make up for the extra money being spent on the robot. Since it was both more expensive and timelier, it would not make sense to use robotics for surgeries like this yet. In 10 years I think it is possible that technology has improved to be able to do these surgeries more efficiently.
If we keep investing money into the research and development of these robots, then it could have a negative effect on surgeons. Once the technology becomes more affordable and efficient, why wouldn’t hospitals want to invest in these types of machines? This makes you wonder if even the most prestigious careers, such as being a surgeon, are safe from the replacement of robots in the workplace.
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1 comment:
I believe that robots could have a proper place in assisting surgeries. An idea that I have in mind is where the robot could help provide the surgeons with the correct tools that they need during a surgery. The robot could even be programmed to respond when listening to the command given by the surgeon. I feel like this would be a great way to use robots because each tool could be given to the surgeon quickly and without hesitation. I do not believe however, that robots should be involved in operating in surgeries. I feel like this is a dangerous path for multiple reasons. One reason is because some people have abnormal parts in their bodies. If a robot is programmed to make the same specific cut in a surgery, what will happen when a patient gets cut and starts bleeding because they have an abnormally sized vein? This is a huge issue because surgeries are very precise and one tiny mistake could kill a person. Another issue is when an emergency arises during a surgery that the robot does not know how to respond to. What if just one person being operated on starts to have a heart attack? A surgeon is prepared to respond and take the necessary steps to help that person survive. If it happens with a robot, there is a possibility that it takes longer to respond or even worse, it doesn’t respond at all. Also, as you stated, robots today are slower and more expensive when preforming surgeries than surgeons. This is why I believe that surgeons are best equipped to handle surgeries. Even with the very simple cuts, I would feel much more comfortable with a professional doing it rather than something that was programmed to do it. I do not want to take a single chance when it comes to something as big as surgery.
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