A new automated anesthesiology device has recently made the news: Automated anesthesiology for colonoscopies. There's the obvious fear of high-priced docs losing their jobs "How dare they assume a machine could replace a physician with years of education and knowledge?'.
But for the moment, what's the situation? Colonoscopies for polyp screening and removal are very routine procedures. For the colonoscopy part, only 5% of patients have a polyp removed. So most of the time the GI doc is doing boring work, looking for polyps that mostly never there.
And similarly for the anesthesiologist except moreso. Even if the GI doc find polyps that are removable, that doesn't change the sedation. If something is found that needs more than just the colo tool, then hey, we ain't doing that here, we're backing out anyway, no need for more anesthesia. All they are doing is conscious sedation over and over and over again.
Every patient needs oversight. Things go wrong. "I didn't know the patient would have a seizure, allergic reaction, is used to the sedation drugs" These things need tweaking. For the most part, the every day stuff and these few weird things are extremely well-known (there's been a high tech assembly line of patients getting colonoscopies forever!). So this is the perfect place for automation to both reduce cost and time and effort. And the machines are going to have extra sensitive alarms, a good buffer to stay away from the bad situations.
There'll still be a need for lots and lots of physicians, don't worry about it, freshly graduated MD. Hopefully family practice, where the real medicine happens, will become more respectable = more highly paid, because it is already high in demand but nobody is going into it because it won't pay for med school tuition loans.
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The whole point to science is to make things repeatable.
The trend then is that if you do something enough times and for what variation there is, it can be parametrized, then it can be automated and packaged.
We do it for medications: an expert gives very simple instructions on use, and then you do it yourself. Simple first-aid for even life threatening situations doesn't need to be handled by a full physician. Anyone who can read directions and gets a couple hours training can do CPR and use a defibrillator.
Medicine is progressing towards knowledge constantly. Radiology is miniturizing image taking to the point where soon you really could have a Star Trek tricorder to wave over someone to see and judge any internal problems.
Look, there's already the DaVinci robotic surgeon. Of course it doesn't do every thing and needs to be operated by a full surgeon.
(from Medical Devices)
But, soon enough you'll be able to go to your local drugstore and go down the pain-relief aisle, turn on the cough and cold section, then come to the Surgeon-in-a-box aisle:
- Wart-Removal-In-A-Box - wait, don't they have these already, some freezing solution?
- Stitches-In-A-Box - for non-serious cuts that are too deep to heal themselves, place the box opening over the wound and the sensors will be able to see where to close up. Applies flesh knitting goop reducing scarring (Dermabond, based on superglue, it's real).
- Colonoscopy-In-A-Box - you'll still need to take the prep, robots can't see through poop either. Send to the lab any polyps removed in the enclosed vial.
- Lasik-In-A-Box - just place against the affected eye for ten seconds and hold your breath.
OK for most of these you'll need a prescription for them. But still you'll be administering them at home yourself.
Yes, I agree, the last three I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable with. But none of them exist so I'm off the hook for now.
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