This week, KUHF ran a story about a strange, growing trend in medical centers around the nation – robot doctors. Here, Methodist hospital now has two of these robot doctors, and yes, they have names: MURDOC (Mobile-Unit Robot Doctors) and ROHAS (Remote Operated Health Assessment System).
A monitor is the head of the robot, transmitting a live image of the doctor from a remote location. The physician can control the robot from another part of a hospital or from home, via laptop and joystick.
Dr. Ling is directing MURDOC into a hospital room, where his patient, Russell Jones, is recovering from a stroke […] He says patients respond well to the robots and after a few minutes, forget they're talking to a machine.
The whole purpose of these robots is to expand coverage during the overnight shift when most physicians rely on nurses for total patient care. It also helps spread coverage for those sought-after specialty physicians whose demand outnumbers their supply. Hmmm … if the janitor strike continues much longer, will we see Rosie from The Jetsons appear in office buildings around Houston?
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