Search Results for "robotic hysterectomy"
Ob-Gyns’ statement on robotic hysterectomy
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement on robotic surgery this week that concluded: Aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing of the latest medical technologies may mislead the public into believing that they are the best choice. Our patients deserve and need factual information about all of their treatment options, including costs, so that they […]
6/8/2012Examples of medical marketing for the week: full body skin cancer scans, robotic hysterectomy
Both of these were sent to me by journalists: An email pitch letter from a medical group: Medical Office has First Full Body Scanner to Protect Against Skin Cancer Dear xxxxx, We thought that this might make for a very interesting and informative article. With the approach of summer break, this is a time when […]
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Local news hype of robotic surgery doesn’t match many hysterectomy patients’ experiences
Many journalists seem enthralled with robotic surgery systems. For local journalists — especially local TV journalists — the video of the robotic arms and the surgeon using the hand controls from a distance away from the patient seems all too exciting. In Secaucus, New Jersey, it’s news when a hospital simply acquires a surgical robot. The […]
9/10/2013Roundup of robotic surgery news – colorectal, endometrial, hysterectomy
As we’ve previously noted, with the explosive proliferation of robotic surgery systems in the US, it requires almost fulltime attention on a fulltime beat in order to stay on top of what is published about robotics. I can’t devote that kind of fulltime attention. But from time to time, I post research results that catch […]
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New questions about the $3B/year robotic surgery business
When Intuitive Surgical, manufacturer of the DaVinci robotic surgery system, last month reported that it had exceeded revenue and earnings expectations for the quarter, the company CEO said, “We’re neither satisfied nor comfortable.” But, clearly, neither are some observers in medicine satisfied or comfortable about the technology’s explosive growth. This is the final sentence of […]
7/22/2014Robotic roundup: Useful? Or little clinical value?…”robotic invasion”…outpaces evidence
Here’s another of our periodic roundups of robotic surgery news, some of which doesn’t get much attention in the mainstream news media. Forbes has hosted a little back-and-forth about robotic surgery in recent weeks. First, Robert Pearl, MD, chief executive of the Permanente Medical Group, included a discussion of robotic surgery in his piece, “America’s […]
Robotic surgery roundup: great small paper journalism, new marketing/ad campaigns
Since I think it’s a safe bet that not many of you regularly read The Bulletin newspaper of Bend, Oregon, I suggest you read a two-part series by Markian Hawryluk as just one indication of the difference one individual can make, no matter the size of the news organization. In part one, “Robot surgery is […]
2 10/8/2013Bloomberg continues bulldog reporting on robotic surgery risks
See Robert Langreth’s piece, “Robot Surgery Damaging Patients Rises With Marketing.” Langreth reflects on a familiar tale: Promotions that emphasize benefits, minimize or ignore harms “another breakthrough in robotic surgery” “Star Wars” comparisons Excerpt from the story: “Robotic surgeries are on the rise, fueled by aggressive marketing by doctors, hospitals and Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG), […]
8/22/2013Medscape asks: “Robotic Surgery: Too Much, Too Soon?”
On Medscape, an editor and a surgeon published a slide show series entitled “Robotic Surgery: Too Much, Too Soon?” (You need to register in order to see it). Some excerpts: Is Insufficient Training a Serious Problem With Robotic Surgery? Intuitive Surgical is currently facing various lawsuits involving improperly trained surgeons. In a Medscape interview, J. […]
5/30/2013To a man with a new hammer….marketing claims of robotic “firsts” piling up
Health care marketing of robotic surgery systems knows no bounds. At the end of this piece, you can see a list of past posts on this marketing trend. Besides the explosive use in prostate surgery, we’ve seen promotions of robotic “firsts” for: first robotic cholecystectomy first TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) to treat sleep apnea first […]
8 2/6/2012How hospitals recoup the cost of buying robotic surgery systems
The blogger known only as the Skeptical Scalpel (self-described as a surgeon for 40 years and a surgical department chairman and residency program director for over 23 of those years) continues his thread of posts raising questions about the proliferation of robotic surgery. The latest is entitled “Study: Robotic surgery financials explained.” It’s his take […]
3/6/2013Health News Briefs – even by the best – too brief to be useful?
Delivery of health care news online removes many of the limitations of delivery in print. Space limitations are gone. They can be creatively addressed by providing links to more resources and to provide more context. But that often doesn’t happen – even by some news organizations considered to be the best. The New York Times […]
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5-Star Friday: The obvious and the obscure
The 5-star writing we feature below highlights an interesting contrast: the obvious and the obscure. On the one hand, I’m guessing it’s fairly obvious to many of us that some physicians have ties to industry money; but on the other hand, is it widely known that some doctors and medical journals are blatantly refusing to […]
How minimally invasive surgery was spun as the ‘latest and greatest’ for cervical cancer
To understand how minimally invasive surgery for cervical cancer became popular before high-quality evidence was available about its outcomes, consider some rah-rah local news coverage. Back in 1995, for example, The Record of Hackensack, N.J., reported that laparoscopy “made surgery simpler and less painful,” with a doctor calling its tiny incisions a “breakthrough” for cervical […]
Problematic PR releases: Why you should dig deeper when you see the term “minimally invasive”
Consumers are gung-ho about so-called “minimally invasive” procedures, which typically require smaller incisions than traditional open surgery. Partly, it’s for good reason. Technologies like laparoscopy and arthroscopy — which use tiny cameras and instruments — have reduced complications and sped recovery times for many common operations. But not every treatment or test billed as “minimally […]
