HEALTH CARE
Robotics, advanced telehealth: This is what the future of medicine looks like, Synapse panelists say
Telehealth is often a significantly less expensive option for care than in-office visits, and especially urgent care or emergency department visits.
SIMPSON33
By Veronica Brezina-Smith
Reporter, Tampa Bay Business Journal
a day ago
The helth cre environment world nd itsel grppling with the spred o Covid-19, mkiing it criticl time to tp into the ltest technologies.
Helth cre experts rom the dt nd rticil intelligence spce to doctors discussed the nture o technologies evolving in their prctice during recent Synpse Florid virtul event. Synpse Converge ws n online, three-dy conerence rom June 9 to 11, with pnels, keynote spekers nd Q&As.
On June 11, the helth cre nd tech experts congregted virtully or the "The Future o Medicine: Robotics, 3D Printing nd More" pnel discussion. Spekers included Derek Pupello, ounder nd CEO o FIVE Lbs in Tmp; Jose Morey, chie medicl innovtion ocer t Virgini-bsed Liberty BioSecurity; Dr. Allen Chudzinski, director o colon nd rectl surgery t AdventHelth; Izik Itzhkov, vice president o business development t New York-bsed AEYE Helth.
Here's wht they hd to sy:
How Covid is chnging telehelth/ helth cre
Itzhkov: I've been in telehelth or 15 yers nd the min drivers or using it re very dierent now. It ws rst used to provide convenience or rurl res to connect with doctors, such s hving ptient's prescription lled. With the virus, we see very new, strong benet or telehelth protecting both ptients nd providers rom exposure to Covid. As time goes by, I cn see telehelth ddressing every spect o medicine.
Chudzinski: Telemedicine in the lrgest wy hs chnged things or our prctice o surgery. At lest 25 percent o ptients we see now re through telehelth shion; it mkes it more convenient or ptients. By hving visits sy or pre-surgery nd explin surgicl options, it sves lot o time. It’s bit odd not estblishing the ptient-doctor reltionship ce-to-ce, but it does benet those ptients with diseses or surgicl workup. This is relly the rst time this genertion hs seen disese tht we don’t hve cure or. We sw tht lot o hospitls were not prepred or the pndemic with the [limited] mount o ce shields, msks — it's neglect rom our helth cre system. ... Elective surgeries stopping gretly impcted us. When we hd to stop elective surgeries we hd to rech out to ptients, providers — tht ws nother wke- up cll to ptients. It ws striking to ptients tht we told them tht we cn't do their surgery right now.
Pupello: We’ve seen comments bout how we were not prepred. This cme out o nowhere. The biggest short-term impct is everything stopped. We were told conerences hd to be cnceled becuse the teching physicins were being prevented rom trveling becuse hospitls were bnning trvel. I they did trvel, hospitls would prevent them rom doing surgeries. Our culty dropped everything [conerence relted] let nd right. Going orwrd, the virus is going to chnge things in severl wys. It will speed up doption o VR trining pltorms, but there re some limittions to tht. It llows or surgicl trining tht we minly do here, but you cn't replicte the hnds-on experience virtully. And everybody is still little bit nervous bout crowds so we hd to djust how we think o our trining spce s venue. When we do these lrger courses we do buet-style ctering — tht’s not hppening nymore.
How Covid is chnging the mrket
Itzhkov: My compny provides dignostic screening imging solutions; we identiy high-risk ptients with existing conditions like dibetes or ny ptient who is over 65 yers old tht needs to be screened once yer by n endocrinologist. Typiclly our mrket ws working with endocrinologists, primry cre physicins nd giving them the tools to dignose t their clinics. We strted working with clinics, cdemic medicl centers in Florid, New York, Boston nd then the coronvirus hit us. All o sudden we sw people weren’t doing their nnul scns. Testing in primry cre clinics ws not esible, but people still need to get tested. Insted o going to primry cre physicins, we went to other plces — nursing homes, senior living cilities. Other res were t phrmcy stores where someone cn go to phrmcy nd get tested.
Future o robotics/ rticil intelligence
Morey: There's been lot more ocus on AI in predictbility. Economists re looking t commerce not just in helth cre but GDP nd wnt to utilize AI to identiy [Covid] risks in dierent regions or phsing in nd out o opening. As you cquire new dt, the lgorithm is lerning nd djusting nd we're seeing this in Covid in rel time. It kind o rustrtes people [not hving nswers immeditely] in identiying how you cn open up the economy, who’s t greter risk. People wnt to know the popultion with higher mortlity rte, the root o the disese, complexes nd looking t
genetics, socil economic sttus — we wnt to understnd ‘pnormic view’ o ptient.
Pupello: I work in orthopedics nd spine; it's relly bout robot-ssisted surgeries. The robot is there s tool to help guide the surgeon. Best-known robots re the Mko surgicl robots tht were rst pproved to help surgeons in knee replcement surgeries. You hve to hve proper lignment in the knee nd surgeons cn lign precisely, but i things re o little bit it cn led to ilures down the line. Robotics blend imging o ntomy progrms into robotic system nd guides you. It kind o keeps you rom coloring outside o the lines. The surgeons tht do high-volume surgeries hve ewer complictions. How cn you mke less experienced surgeon operte on the sme level? These tools cn help verge surgeon do wht better surgeon cn. Robotics re improving outcomes or ptients.
Chudzinski: It is n djunct, tool. This ll stems rom minimlly invsive surgery. Insted o surgeon holding instruments, surgeon sits nd helps control those robotic rms nd there re vriety o pltorms. It's not [completely] utonomous. There is still lwys need or someone to techniclly be vilble even to strt the surgery. ... When I worked in D.C., I ws working with the militry in terms o on-site surgery on the bttleelds nd wht developed with tht ws surgeon remotely helping to do the procedure; some o tht ws utonomous. Ultimtely my concerns with completely utonomous is tht mybe 60 percent o people shre ntomy — we re ll little dierent.
Morey: I see robotics being used or in-ptient cre. We sw this in Chin. Chin turned out their Covid wings to be completely controlled by robots so the robots would see ptient nd physicin would control them.
COMPANIES IN THIS ARTICLE Synapse Florida
Tampa, FL
AdventHealth
Altamonte Springs, FL Hospital & Health Care
83,000
Employees
Mako Inc
Monterey Park, CA
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