Comments on: Robots improve patient care in the ICU: physicians http://www.kurzweilai.net/robots-improve-patient-care-in-the-icu-physicians Accelerating Intelligence Wed, 22 May 2013 08:27:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Phil Osborn http://www.kurzweilai.net/robots-improve-patient-care-in-the-icu-physicians/comment-page-1#comment-24314 Phil Osborn Fri, 13 Jul 2012 02:42:00 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=155509#comment-24314 Has to be better than what I've gotten of late. I went in to the ER around midnight three months ago with severe abdominal pressure and pain, barely able to take a breath, with my blood pressure, which is normally about 115/65, spiking around 200/120. Turns out I had a "psuedo-obstruction" of the small intestine (meaning that the peristalis simply stopped somewhere in the thirty feet or so) and the only thing that they could do was stick a tube down into my stomach and pump it out for the next two days, until the relaxation of pressure returned my intestine to normal activity. Meanwhile, with multiple empty rooms available, they stick me in a room with a LOUD guy, who is constantly calling for nurses. Every ten minutes or so, someone else would loudly enter, frequently bumping up against my bed, where I lay with tubes running into me in various painful ways. Then the guy staged a PARTY on the other side of the curtain, with half a dozen guests who were CHEERING and CLAPPING, starting well before the normal guest times, but this guy was some wheeler dealer with tons of money, so he did anything he wanted. The head shift nurse, right after I asked her if there was any way to quiet things down, joined in the party! The two days of virtual sleepless misery next to this guy took several weeks off my expected lifespan, I'm certain. I think that my experience resulted from the staff assuming that I must be indigent, because I hadn't had time to change out of my work clothes, which were dirty. In fact, I had full coverage insurance, but they're not supposed to know and didn't ask. That makes two similar experiences in the past three years. In both cases, staff let pools of urine accumulate on the floor - not from me, BTW - and exhibited a totally callous attitude toward the patients depending on them. So, bring on the bots! I suspect that robots will have more empathy. Has to be better than what I’ve gotten of late. I went in to the ER around midnight three months ago with severe abdominal pressure and pain, barely able to take a breath, with my blood pressure, which is normally about 115/65, spiking around 200/120. Turns out I had a “psuedo-obstruction” of the small intestine (meaning that the peristalis simply stopped somewhere in the thirty feet or so) and the only thing that they could do was stick a tube down into my stomach and pump it out for the next two days, until the relaxation of pressure returned my intestine to normal activity.

Meanwhile, with multiple empty rooms available, they stick me in a room with a LOUD guy, who is constantly calling for nurses. Every ten minutes or so, someone else would loudly enter, frequently bumping up against my bed, where I lay with tubes running into me in various painful ways. Then the guy staged a PARTY on the other side of the curtain, with half a dozen guests who were CHEERING and CLAPPING, starting well before the normal guest times, but this guy was some wheeler dealer with tons of money, so he did anything he wanted. The head shift nurse, right after I asked her if there was any way to quiet things down, joined in the party! The two days of virtual sleepless misery next to this guy took several weeks off my expected lifespan, I’m certain. I think that my experience resulted from the staff assuming that I must be indigent, because I hadn’t had time to change out of my work clothes, which were dirty. In fact, I had full coverage insurance, but they’re not supposed to know and didn’t ask. That makes two similar experiences in the past three years. In both cases, staff let pools of urine accumulate on the floor – not from me, BTW – and exhibited a totally callous attitude toward the patients depending on them.

So, bring on the bots! I suspect that robots will have more empathy.

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