Washington hospitals now have at least 37 surgical robots, and robotic surgeries — most to remove a uterus or prostate — have skyrocketed in recent years. Swedish Medical Center has seven robots, Sacred Heart in Spokane has three. Even tiny Pullman Regional Hospital, with 25 beds, bought one. It cost twice as much as the hospital netted in 2010.Just owning one of those things means they have to pay the bill. And that means they have to do a lot of surgeries. And that skews treatment recommendations.
This headlong proliferation, with uneven safeguards and significant costs that may ultimately push insurance costs higher, has raised alarms even among surgeons.
It reminds me of the sleep lab I went to for my MSLT. They had a whole wing- at least 15 rooms completely wired for sound and video and remote control EEG and PSG and a control center in the middle with lots of whiz bang electronics and computers. And a bunch of technicians who monitored it all night long. And there were only three other patients besides me. The place was creepy. And there's several other sleep labs in this city.
Not to mention- after 40 years of hypersomnia and 10 of obesity, the test still failed to identify my illness. Many people are tested numerous times. The surgery robot may skew priorities, but at least it provides a tangible service.
