How Patients’ Perspectives Shape the Adoption of Medical Innovation

Innovation has been the driving force of excellence in American medicine. From development of anesthesia to heart bypass, innovation in treatment modalities has saved millions of lives across the country—and the world.

For instance, robotic surgery is a technology that allows doctors to perform complex procedures with more precision. It has seen an exponential increase in adoption across clinical specialties in the past two decades. This adoption is driven largely by specific advantages associated with the robotic approach: shorter hospital stay, less blood loss, and lower pain medication requirements.

These findings provide useful insights for policy makers on how the health care system promotes adoption and dissemination of innovative medical technologies and the importance of understanding the patient’s perspective.