Innovation is critical to patient safety and quality of care. The medical profession has made remarkable strides in the past several decades. New technologies, medications, protocols and general knowledge have informed patient care and safety for the better. However, we must not be duped into believing that simply because a new technological tool or drug exists that it is automatically safe and preferable to an alternative.

A shocking number of surgical errors and patient complications have recently arisen as a result of robotic surgical techniques. Not all robotic techniques are the same and some have been adequately tested and found to be successful. However, other techniques are dangerous and are being heralded as “the best” alternative simply because they are new and innovative.

Before patients go under the knife and the robotic arm, it is critical that they educate themselves about the technology their surgeons will be using. What is the technique’s success rate over all? What is the technique’s success rate in-house and in regards to the specific surgeon performing the procedure? Failure to educate yourself about these baseline facts can cost you dearly.

Of course, it is ultimately up to the surgeon to take responsibility for mistakes make on his or her watch. Should a physician employ an unsafe tool or procedure or make a mistake while attempting to aid a patient, that physician could ultimately be held responsible for medical malpractice.

For the benefit of both any patient and general patient safety, it is critical that physicians think twice before using new tools and procedures simply because they are new. And patients should understand that they can protect themselves simply by educating themselves and insisting upon another approach if the suggested tools or procedures seem unnecessarily dangerous or untested.

Source: Standard-Examiner, “New lawsuits, deaths bringing more scrutiny for robot surgery,” Robert Langreth, Mar. 7, 2013