We’ve written before about some of the headlines praising robotic surgery:
Robot doctor – surgery of tomorrow
Da Vinci puts magical touch on the prostate
Cancer survivors meet lifesaving surgical robot
Robotic surgeon’s hands never tremble
Da Vinci is code for faster recovery
Surgical Maestro
DA VINCI ROBOT IS SURGERY WORK OF ART
Now even the news that a company is testing a couple of robotic-surgery-training-simulators “and expects the units to go on sale for about $100,000 by early 2011” makes news.
The AP reported it (this is their photo at left of the news conference) and the story was picked up by ABC News.com, CNBC, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere.
Granted, a simulator that might help train docs in what seems to be the inevitable spread of this technology might be an important quality/safety improvement.
But the AP story that spread across the country didn’t mention any concerns about the medical arms race involving robotic devices, nor any questions about evidence.
Hold news conference.
Demonstrate gizmo.
Get nationwide news.
How easy it can be to get free publicity, without ever having people focus on some of the important policy questions at stake. But after this week, who cares about health care policy, anyway?
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
Monday at #ADA2021, an infectious disease epidemiologist, a journalist, and a researcher shared perspectives on communication of risk in the era of COVID-19: http://ow.ly/ROfR30rMeE7 @AstleyCM @garyschwitzer @berthahidalgo @ADA_DiabetesPro
Shoutouts to @susan_bewley @drkevinknopf @MichaelBaum11 in this call for more than fawning coverage from press releases for these kinds of stories.
Also, linked history inside goes back 5 years just on Grail apparently trying to become Holy Grail. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1408849696416841731
Comments
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Stephanie Jewett, RN, MBA
February 27, 2010 at 7:51 amRobotic surgery – unbelievable! I was an OR private scrub nurse for years for a world renowned plastic surgeon – interesting indeed! Very good site – I happened to get here this a.m. just looking for further, interesting medicl blogs. I’ll be back. Stepanie
Bill Gleason
February 28, 2010 at 5:12 pmThose who can, do.
Those who can’t, simulate?\
—
Walter Lipman
March 1, 2010 at 12:16 pmAnd what, pray tell, happens when the experience of the medical practitioner with this special purpose computer mirrors that of all of those geniuses on Wall Street who wrote algorithms for the trading of securities backed by sub-prime mortgages?
I don’t know about you, but my experience with computers is that they are obsessively stupid and literal-minded: they can do only what they’re told to do. They are notably bad when put in the position of having to do decision-making…and isn’t the hallmark of a talented surgeon the executive ability to make correct decisions with rapidity?
When you hook something up to a logic processor, you start to forget that it’s just a tool; this is something done at your own peril…when one’s patients share that peril, it’s time to draw a boldfaced line.
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