Robots almost as good as clinicians at pleasing patients in the ER
Emergency-room patients are happy to receive care from a physician interacting remotely over a tablet computer mounted on a dog-like robot.
That’s the conclusion of researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital who tried out the system on 40 ER patients and gauged attitudes beyond Boston by conducting a national survey of 1,000 healthcare consumers.
Some 93% of the actual patients were satisfied with the experience, with 83% saying it was no less pleasing than having an in-person doctor come to their bedside.
Meanwhile most of the survey participants indicated they had no qualms about the use of robotics in medical care.
The team’s report posted March 4 in JAMA Network Open.
“The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and increased social distancing measures have changed the way in which in-person health care visits are conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Peter Chai, MD, and colleagues point out. “[U]sing a robotic system to facilitate contactless teletriage in the ED is feasible and acceptable, with implications for public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In coverage of the work by MIT News, senior author Carlo Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, says he and other engineers often “think about different solutions, but sometimes they may not be adopted because people are not fully accepting of them.” The study’s results “give us some confidence that people are ready and willing to engage with us on these fronts.”
The robot was one of the mechanical quadrupeds developed by Boston Dynamics and made famous by videos posted online.
Full study available here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.