Outdated and inefficient technology could waste huge amounts of surgeons’ time, according to worrying new research.
Medtronic’s ‘State of Surgery in the US 2024 Report’ shows that US surgeons lose an average of four hours of work time per week due to inefficient technologies.
An alarming three in four (74%) U.S. surgeons say the technology in their OR is inefficient, which they say impacts overall patient care.
Can technology help improve healthcare?
More than two-thirds (69%) of U.S. surgeons now spend time outside the hospital performing administrative tasks due to outdated technologies such as recording surgical video to USB drives and DVDs and taking manual notes.
Three quarters (73%) say the technology they have access to in the OR lags behind the general technology they use every day in their personal lives, with four in five (82%) relying on generic consumer technology such as WhatsApp, Zoom and FaceTime to share and view operations remotely due to the lack of dedicated surgical video streaming platforms. This also points to a huge cybersecurity risk across the industry due to the use of non-compliant platforms.
Many (73%) report that current technology is holding them back from performing at their best, with two in three (62%) considering leaving the field because they feel burned out.
Medtronic Medical Surgical Portfolio EVP Mike Marinaro summarized, “Surgeons’ time is best spent helping patients.”
In addition to improving employee productivity, the report also sheds some light on the role of AI and robotics in reducing errors in patient care, as well as the role of virtual reality in training.
As the healthcare systems of many countries around the world continue to battle rising costs, Medtronic’s research serves as a critical reminder that by using the right technologies, surgeons could spend more time on important patient care.