A report by Medtronic has revealed that surgeons in the US are losing an average of four hours of work time each week due to outdated and inefficient technology in operating rooms. The study, titled ‘State of Surgery in the US 2024 Report’, found that three out of four US surgeons believe that the technology in their OR is inefficient, impacting overall patient care.
One of the main reasons for this is the reliance on outdated technologies such as recording surgical videos on USB sticks and DVDs or taking manual notes. Many surgeons also reported that the technology in their OR lags behind consumer tech they use in their personal lives, leading them to rely on platforms like WhatsApp, Zoom, and FaceTime for sharing and viewing surgeries. This not only hinders their efficiency but also poses cybersecurity risks for the industry.
The study also highlighted the potential benefits of using AI, robotics, and virtual reality to reduce errors in patient care and enhance training for surgeons. By leveraging these technologies, surgeons could allocate more time to providing high-quality patient care. Mike Marinaro, EVP of Medtronic Medical Surgical Portfolio, emphasized the importance of surgeons spending their time helping patients rather than dealing with inefficient technology.