Domo Arigato Dr Roboto?

Recently I went to the doctor's office, and knowing my previous experience with doctors resulted in 4 different doctors and 4 different diagnosis, I wasn't looking forward to it. So I figured I would do the research before and self diagnose myself an see if the doctor agreed with me. Lo an behold, he did, said I was pretty much right on, wrote my prescription and I was then on my way. As I was leaving, and reminiscing of some of the inabilities of doctors. Sticking to the theme of this blog, being slightly outrageous to stupidly insane. I determined that, doctors can and will be replaced by robots.

Yes, Robots. From my bare basic knowledge, everyday doctors, your common GP (General Practitioner) can be replaced by a robot which is database driven for information purposes. Where you don't have to answer questions like, "Are you allergic to this or that?" or "Have you been sick in the past". A robot could pull up the data of a patients medical history and then determine what prescription would be the most suitable.

The human body has not changed for at least the last 100 years. This can easily be programmed into a robot using complex algorithms. Knee bone connected to the...hip bone....etc. Robots with built in computers could determine what ails you and what prescription can suit you through scanning and knowing your medical history.

Currently, there is a varying degree of expertise in the profession. The differences between a 50 year old physician and a new graduate are quite extensive. With robots, this discrepancy wouldn't exist since each Robot would be as competent as the next. You won't have to worry if your dumb ass doctor (oxymoron?) giving you an incorrect diagnosis or a prescription that doesn't suit you.

As a generalization, I feel a lot of these diagnosis's are procedure based, as in the eliminate the options based on what you ate last, what you're allergic to, what your previous medical history is, etc. Once they determined that, they match your symptoms to some condition that's written in a book. If all these descriptions were available online (which there are) could be cross referenced with what the patient is experiencing and their previous history and also other patients with similar symptoms, I think this would definitly eliminate the massive wait times, the general inefficiency of the medical practice.

I recently read this article microchips which are the size of rice kernels, to be planted within patients. These microchips could provide the a patients medical history.

The American Medical Association has endorsed the use of implantable microchips to help reduce medical errors and adverse drug reactions. “Passive tags,” implanted under the skin with a needle, contain identification numbers that can be scanned by a radio frequency reader and then used to retrieve a patient’s medical records. Tags approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contain such data as the presence of a pacemaker or chronic disease.
It said the chips may help to identify patients, "thereby improving the safety and efficiency of patient care," reports the latest issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The article was found in the Toronto Star can be read here.


Another article I came across while formulating my ideas is from MSNBC regarding another pilot program involving RoboDoc's. The 200-pound (90-kilogram) robots stand about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. They have flat video screens for heads, and video cameras serve as their eyes and ears. The aim of the technology isn't to replace human doctors, but to make it more convenient for doctors to check in with their patients, and for patients to get quick access to personal physicians who aren't at the hospital. It is just a matter of time before this type of technology can completely take over that position. More can be read here about it.

Also, imagine the hit television series that would be produced by this new RoboDoc hype. First there would be EER (Electro Emergency Room). Where a crack team of ER robots take care of patients in the ER with zany results. Housing Mechanism MDDR-Ram 1.0, This one is about an angry robot doctor who has been programed to follow the rules...his own. Last but not least my favorite show, The Grey Robot's Anatomy. This show revolves around a scandalous Grey RoboDoc who just can't keep her hardware closed. Her emoticon chip has been programmed without logic algorithms. Watch as she tries her luck with RoboSurgeon and Animal RoboDoc. These are just an example of the types of shows we might be in for.

DISCLAIMER: This is by no way a disrespect to the the doctors and nurses and everyone in the medical profession who are saving lives, every day at the hospital emergency room or doctor's office. Their profession is quite stressful and engaging and could not be done by your average Joe Schmo.

Open Sesame

Recently in my post work haze which usually involves a slight case of brain comatose and a larger case of being oblivious to my environment. Once I pull into my driveway, my itinerary consists of taking of my sunglasses (if its sunny), after that I get out of my car, take my briefcase out of my trunk, hit the lock button and get to the once I've locked my car using the key fob, I sauntered in my post work stupor upto my front door.....and recently been trying to unlock the front door with my car key fob, pressing unlock, and then trying to open the door then realizing that I have to use the Neanderthal method of unlocking the door. This led me to wonder why this hasn't been implemented in society.

Whats the difference with having keyless entry to the front door and your car? If you lose your keys, they can unlock your car and get into your house with the key if needed. I was more surprised that my brain has been now wired to try an open my front door with my car keys due to habits formed from deep in the subconscious. Either way, I thought it was pretty interesting and I want my keyless house entry damn it!

What do you guys think?