I Get By with a Little Help from My [Robot] Friends
So, are robots taking over the world? Maybe someday but fortunately, it’s not likely that we are headed for a real-life Westworld just yet. Robots are being developed to support our heroic, yet overworked clinical professionals and have the potential to transform the way we treat and manage disease in the future. This is just a smattering of headlines related to the role of robots in healthcare today:
Tiny robots help treat disease: Researchers are developing teeny, tiny robots (think: Honey I Shrunk the Kids status) that can be used for a variety of health needs and treatments. For those who struggle with complex conditions or medication adherence, pills fitted with miniature digital sensors can be ingested and used to deliver timed doses of medicine or monitor vitals and effects of medication. Meanwhile, biomedical engineers and neurosurgeons are augmenting stroke care with microbots that can remove blood accumulating around the brain, and mechanical engineers are creating millirobots that are the size of your fingertip and capable of moving through the human body on magnetic fields to dispense medications or carry instruments or cameras. While some of these microscopic technologies are very early on in their trial stages, they have the potential to really change the game.
Collaborative robots (‘cobots’) free up physicians to focus more on their patients: A Philadelphia-based health system is piloting the use of Moxi, an interactive cobot that is designed to navigate hospitals to make equipment and supply deliveries and complete other non-clinical tasks so that nurses and physicians can dedicate more of their time to patients. Moxi leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to navigate and work autonomously, ultimately becoming an important part of the care team. While we have all gotten pretty comfortable with vacuum robots driving around our floors at home, still not sure we’re ready for one of these to roll by in a hospital.
In other cobot news, Walgreens is looking to leverage robots in micro-fulfillment centers across the US to fill customers’ prescriptions, allowing their pharmacists to serve in more hands-on, patient-centric roles. Pharmacists will still be responsible for filling time-sensitive medications and controlled substances at local stores, but otherwise will be able to focus on testing, treating, counseling, and managing patients with certain medical conditions and chronic diseases. Sounds like a win-win for pharmacists and patients.
New robot friends: The State of New York announced earlier this year that it would distribute robot companions to the homes of more than 800 elderly people. Although not quite as advanced as Moxi the nurse assistant, these companions are more like our friends Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant (turns out you can give your Google Assistant a name too if you so please) and will engage in small talk, assist with certain tasks like contacting loved ones, and monitor health-related goals and medication adherence. The creator of these robotic companions, Intuition Robotics, claims that they can project empathy and shape their character to form a bond with its human user. The hope is these robots will help address long-term loneliness among our older generation of Americans, which studies suggest is just as damaging to an individual’s health as smoking.
The Big Picture
Technological innovations will play an increasingly larger role in the delivery of healthcare, so it’s essential that we understand exactly how they will influence our care and the benefits (and potential downsides) that come as a result. As robots become more prevalent in the healthcare industry, employers should consider the impact on cost, outcomes, and access that this technology may have on their workforces and benefits programs. Not only may we see fewer costly, invasive procedures, but this technology could enhance our approach to preventive care as well. We’ll stay tuned to find out!