Fans of the science fiction movie Prometheus will be familiar with the scene where Elizabeth - pregnant with an alien clearly in a hurry to be born - rushes to the autonomous surgical pod for an emergency cesarean procedure. After selecting the procedure from a menu, Elizabeth is scanned, anesthetized, operated on and sutured. All in a matter of minutes without a nurse or doctor in sight.
While this might seem like science fiction, reality is catching up fast. Robot surgeons may be about upend medicine in ways that could only be imagined 10 years ago. Advances in robotics are likely to herald significant changes to the practice of medicine and the roles and expectations of those being treated. From a customer strategy perspective few fields are going to be changed by robotics as much as medicine looks to be over the coming decade because the millennia old human dynamic between practitioner and patient will be transformed. There are already a plethora of assistant devices being used in medicine from diagnosis to surgery and through to recovery. Possibly the biggest and at times the most controversial might be the robot surgeon.
The doctor will see you now
We can’t question the humanity in the doctor-patient relationship. This is an enduring and deep-seated construct that goes back to our early ancestors where knowledgeable individuals possessed the gift of healing others. People have always been ready to accept the guidance and instructions of physicians and have rarely felt apprehension about the person conducting a specific procedure. However, technology is rapidly changing the health care landscape and in the next decade we will see a range of new capabilities that will require adaptations along the entire value chain of health care provision. You might already be taking advantage of E-scripts or know someone who has benefited from a medical exoskeleton to speed recovery from a spinal injury. That’s nothing compared with how robots are changing the experience of being a patient and health care practitioner. Some examples include:
Xenex’s germ-zapping robot uses pulsed, high energy, broad spectrum UV light technology to kill microorganisms in hospital rooms and wards. It can disinfect a patient room in as little as 10 minutes and surgical suite in 20 minutes or less.
Paro therapeutic robot is an interactive robot that provides the benefits of animal therapy to patients in hospitals and extended care facilities where live animals present treatment or logistical difficulties.
Moxi the robotic nurse does basic tasks like take temperatures and collect consumables from the storage locker. However, over time it is likely that these bots will develop in capability and dexterity to the point where they are companions to nurses and fulfill a range of functions.
The da Vinci® Surgical Robot extends the surgeons skill and capability through coupling human surgical technique with robotic precision, dexterity and visual presentation.
Each of these robotic innovations changes the patient and health care practitioner (HCP) experience and relationships. In customer strategy and experience design terms, this means that with the introduction of new tech there are ‘market’ opportunities and challenges to understand or overcome, and new experiences to craft, on the path to our future health care.
Surgery As A Service - The new SAAS?
The MedPod as envisaged in the movie Prometheus.
Could surgery as a service become reality? At some point, might we venture to our local GP, enjoy a quick and effective diagnosis, and hop into the surgical pod for a procedure and be well enough to enjoy a light lunch with friends after? It might seem far fetched, however the pace of change occurring in the medical devices/automation space is so rapid that they key barrier to this becoming a reality is more likely regulation and public acceptance. However, if we know anything - public attitudes can shift quickly once they people are confident in the process, the outcome, and the price.
There is no doubt we are seeing the start of a cascade of change in how we experience medical treatments and support. While it looks exciting, the implications with regards to how we embrace patients and health care providers in this journey are non-trivial. In a relatively short period of time health treatment may look more like something we’re used to seeing in science fiction movies, not our local clinic.
Cyrus Allen is a Founding Partner at CapFeather Global with 2o years of corporate experience locally and internationally with Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, Telstra and ANZ, together with 10 years senior consulting and advisory Customer Strategy and Customer Experience Innovation. He has held three non-executive board directorships and has been involved in start ups in the aged care and delivery technology sectors.