How Healthcare Organizations can benefit of robotics

Updated on July 28, 2021

Year in, year out the robotic industry is getting bigger and bigger. Many companies like the industrial robot manufacturer Robotnik are working on new robotics products and services that can help humans in many ways that once wasn’t possible. Robots bring a whole host of great advantages to many industries, one of the main ones being for healthcare organisations. Not only do they help with the health and safety of employees within the organisation, but they can also be more productive, consistent with their tasks, save you money and help with efficiency in certain areas. It is important to keep in mind that they don’t necessarily replace jobs, they simply increase job potential and allow you to utilize staff in other areas. Below we have put together five different benefits robotics are to a healthcare organization. 

Safety 

An aspect within the medical industry that benefits most from the use of robotics is their safety. Robots can but used to do the jobs that could potentially be dangerous to a human. Machinery that can get extremely hot, or treatments may be potentially harmful to the person treating the patient, this is where a robot could be used to. By using a robot you can utilize the skills of your employees in a different way which is also safer. Employees will appreciate that you are showing you care, by reducing the number of people needed to be employed in a potentially dangerous role. Robots can also be used to analyse the health and safety risks of a workplace, spotting any potential risks before they happen. Also they can operate patients (autonomously or tele operated) with the promise of limiting human error as for example for assisted surgery. Another example of the rise of robotics in the medical field in the last 2 years is consequence of the pandemy. Indeed, throughout the Covid crisis, mobile robots and robot manipulators have been largely used for surveillance, patient care, sanitization, transportation, lab assistance & logistics tasks and helped improve many processes that could have been dangerous for humans. 

Robot used for medical transportation

Productivity

Another key component to using robotics is how productive they can be. Unlike humans, robots do not tire and can be operated 24 hours a day. Although some mistakes can be made, in certain areas they are more effective than humans, allowing them to be more productive. When partaking in repetitive tasks, humans can get tired which leads to silly mistakes, a robot on the other hand doesn’t and can perform without a break, day off or holiday time. Robots won’t get worn out, won’t get injured and won’t get distracted from the task at hand. They also won’t need to take breaks throughout the day.

Savings

Robots can save your company a lot of money due to their many benefits. Robots can reduce the number of things that have to be thrown away, as they are more accurate and won’t make silly mistakes as you do with human error. They can also produce more in a shorter amount of time, increasing the output of your workplace without having to hire somebody new to take on a role. This means that you should find that you get a quick return of investment as soon as you start introducing robots into your healthcare organisation.

Consistency

Humans can get distracted, especially when they are required to do multiple things at once, or if their workload becomes too much for them. Robots on the other hand don’t. They don’t have work emergencies or need to move around to do different tasks. Robots stay in one place, doing the task they are required to do. This means they can be more consistent and don’t make many mistakes. No sick days, no holidays, mean that they are reliable any time of the year. 

Job Creation

Some people believe that by introducing robots, you have to get rid of your workers. This is not the case, in fact by using robots you can increase your workforce and advertise jobs in different areas. When using a robot, you need staff to look after them and supervise, making sure they are doing the task you need them to do quickly. If you are using a robot instead of a staff member, you could relocate them to a different position where they could be beneficial. As new robots are developed and more are utilized in businesses, the number of jobs that are created will also continue to increase.

There are so many benefits to using a robot within the medical field. They do the jobs that humans don’t want to do and can be more reliable and productive. This saves you money whilst reducing the number of errors that occur at the same time. The good thing is that they don’t replace jobs, they simply create new ones, helping you work on other areas that may need improving. There are many types of robots that can help in the field such as a robot manipulator as well as a myriad of other types depending on the business you have and what you are trying to achieve.

Have you worked with robots before? Will you be adding them to your healthcare organization or have you already? What other benefits have they brought to your healthcare organization? Let us know in the comment box below. 


The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.