Healthcare & the Future
My Dad went to the hospital by ambulance on Monday. Now it is all about easing his pain as the cancer consumes him. It has spread from his prostate to his liver and bones. He is in a lot of pain and can no longer communicate with us. This is a very difficult time for me and my family.

My mother, sister and I take turns staying with him through the days and nights. Right now I have just spent the night with him and I'm posting this from his bedside while he sleeps.

The nurses have been good, although it is easy to see they are understaffed. I've seen this when my wife was in the hospital. I'm sure it is a difficult job and they are probably criticized more than praised. Caring for a stranger is an act of God's grace in my opinion.

In the future, I can foresee that robots will become caregivers. I'm sure we will see this in Japan first. I predict that this will happen within 5 to 10 years. The robots will do simple tasks that are not life and death matters. Over time, more responsibility will be given to them. At some point, they will have a bot that will look like a human, but perform with the efficiency of a machine. The bot will have a gentle, but firm touch and the care will be consistent from patient to patient. Definitely for lower risk patients, this will become the standard of care. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, almost every bed will have its own bot. Will this be good or bad? I think the answer will be both. Sometimes the bot will provide better care than a human nurse could provide, but at other times, the bot will be unable to approximate the emotional feedback provided by a good, kind hearted, caring human nurse.

I also see that caregiving bots will be in the home to help with chronically ill patients. I expect that DME companies will rent such bots instead of people buying a bot. The rich, however, will probably purchase their own caregiving bots, just as one would buy a car.

For single people, having a bot that takes care of them will really improve the quality of their life. This is especially important for people that are widowed after the lost of their spouse.

What do you think?