Developing a robotic-assisted surgery program is a major undertaking and a big investment of time and money.
But this investment can lead to better outcomes for patients while giving hospitals a financial and competitive edge.
In a November webinar hosted by Becker's Hospital Review and sponsored by Intuitive, Jennifer Swenson, president and CEO, and Andrea Pakula, MD, medical director of robotic surgery, both of Adventist Health – Simi Valley (Calif.) Hospital, shared their hospital's story of adopting a robotic surgery system and the positive impact it has had on patient outcomes and the business.
Four key takeaways were:
- Adventist Health – Simi Valley Hospital launched its foray into robotics-assisted surgery to differentiate itself. As a hospital in the Los Angeles basin area, with plenty of other high-level tertiary facilities nearby, Adventist was looking to differentiate its care and become a destination healthcare facility. "My goal was to create a name for ourselves that tells the community, 'Why should I travel outside of my community to receive high-quality health care? [With Adventist, high-quality care is] close to home; I'd rather be in my community,'" Ms. Swenson said. "So we picked robotics as a way to do that." Adventist chose Intuitive as a robotics partner, which brought a surgeon network, staff training and education and marketing.
- The robotics strategy was planned to come online in late spring 2020 — and then COVID struck. Adventist's strategy initially focused on elective surgeries. But COVID struck just a few months before the hospital's Da Vinci robot arrived, and elective surgeries slowed to a crawl. "We took that moment to say you know what, we are going to go 24/7 access to robots and train our entire staff on being able to use these platforms," Ms. Swenson said. That meant more use of the robots across surgeries, such as in acute care cases.
- Using the robot in acute cases helps reduce morbidities that can come with an open surgery. One of Dr. Pakula's cases was a man who came in with sepsis from a perforated colon and diverticulitis. "Most people would do an open operation," Dr. Pakula said. "I really wanted to minimize the wound morbidity for this patient, as well as the potential extended hospitalization and narcotic use, from a big open incision." The patient was indeed able to get out of the hospital much faster, saving costs while reducing risk of open surgery.
- In addition to better patient outcomes, robotic surgery also saves valuable staff and OR time. Surgery with the robot means that a surgical assist is not required, Dr. Pakula said. "Extra staff can be in the cardiac or ortho or neuro room." Moreover, the operating room can be turned over in 12 minutes at Adventist, meaning that far more surgeries can ultimately be scheduled.
Building a successful robotics program takes coordinated effort along with leadership and clinical and operational excellence. While implementing a robotics programs requires a significant initial investment, it can yield significant growth for the business and better patient outcomes.
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