Ethical Considerations of Robotic Surgery in IT Service Management

This discussion board post examines the ethical considerations surrounding the use of robotic surgery in healthcare, drawing on the context of IT Service Management and Professional Culture. The author explores the ethical responsibilities of designers, programmers, hospital administrators, and surgeons involved in robotic surgery. Key ethical concerns include the design and programming of the machines, ensuring patient safety and privacy, the importance of informed consent, and the potential for conflicts of interest. The discussion emphasizes the need for sound ethical behavior, clear guidelines, and a focus on human life in the development and application of this technology. The author highlights the importance of close surgeon-patient contact and the need for continuous improvements to address potential ethical dilemmas. The post concludes that the ethical design and application of robotic surgery is essential to avoid jeopardizing patient well-being.

Running head: ETHICAL DISCUSSION 1
IT Service Management and Professional Culture
Name
Institution
Author’s Note

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 2
Ethical discussion
In the world of today, the computer and the use of the internet is one of the important
growths in the technology. The public has been in a position to gain much help on matters
relating to this technology since it has been embraced in many fields. In the health sector, much
of ease has been put in the operations of major cases such as diagnosis and treatment (Lang et al.,
2017). In the surgical area to be specific has grown a vast use of computer technology in
conducting various surgeries of delicate parts of the human body. From the introduction of this
robotic surgery by da Vinci up to now, It has gained a lot of popularity in many nations. This
technology has led to many patients diverting their attention from the open surgeries conducted
by surgeons to this done by robots which have resulted in decreasing the time spent in the theatre
and the accuracy in attending to delicate tissues. It has also brought about the reduction of the
wound size and the pain experienced by the patient. As the entire society continues to benefit
from computing technology, a lot of ethical questions continue to crop up each and every day.
To be able to answer these questions on ethics of robot-assisted surgeries, the focus must
start from the designers of these machines, to the hospitals' administrations, and to the surgeons
guiding these machines. It is evident that in the designing arena, the latest design is always more
advanced than the first due to more researches that are conducted on daily basis to improve on
the efficiency and accuracy (Lee et al., 2017). This robotic surgery is utilizing machines that
have been designed to conduct delicate parts in human body. With this in mind, much concern
here is human life, which is to be saved in more painless operations. This, therefore, requires a
lot of considerations to be made by the designers of these machines so as to enable much
flexibility than the ability of humans. These machines are very expensive, and some of the
designers may be tempted to design for money instead of considering human life. This will be

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 3
very much unethical of such designers. At a person level, considering humanity is very vital than
any other thing. In the situation that there is any failure is this robot-assisted surgery due to
inflexibility of the machine, then, the designers are to be held responsible for such designs.
Researchers dealing with matters of humanity should be in a position to do their
researches in a thorough and detailed manner to be able to address accuracy in the highest
standard possible which can lead to less harm to patients. It will be an automatic thing that
incorporation of much issues and details will minimize chances of failures and inaccuracies
during surgical operations that impose a lot of dangers to the community.
The other sector that has much to do with the inconveniences of this kind of surgery is
the information technologists who are connected to programming these machines (Ferrarese et
al., 2016). Just like designers, this group has to do a lot of considerations as far as the operations
and controls are concerned. Before undertaking the programming duty, these programmers must
do much research and understand all the processes involved in the surgery and asses the ability
of the machine (Howard & Borenstein, 2018). According to my view, I think these machines
should be programmed by medical officers who have a lot of experience in both surgery
processes and programming. In case this happens, there will be many accurate processes and
precise handling of the human body. Within this context, failure in operations brought about by
the inaccurate or any mess with the Information Technology sector, then the issue of ethics will
have to come on board.

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 4
According to Moore, an innovation within the health sector should be acceptable when
there are several sufficient laboratory tests conducted before undertaking the innovation itself.
This was to ascertain the suitability of such innovation in the industry and its scope. The second
consideration, according to Moore, was to ensure there are sufficient skills, knowledge, and
support available to help undertake the innovation. Despite the fact that Moore was not directly
focusing on the robotic surgery, it is very important for these ethical considerations to be
borrowed into the robotic surgery. This will ensure training of the surgeons and giving them
sufficient skills through the application of good in house expertise.
In hospitals, both the hospital administration and the surgeon conducting the surgery
should be taking the initiative to inform the patient about the kind of technology that is in
application. This is very ethical conduct to create awareness on the patient and give many details
and the procedures involved.
At sometimes, there are conflicts of interest in the event where a surgeon is influenced by
benefits of the career and his high social status gained when he becomes an innovator in surgical
field. This will lead to the surgeon choosing a product that he invested in over other best
innovations (Edwards et al., 2018). This is unethical following the description of deontology as a
theory in ethics. This kind of brand loyalty influence makes innovators and surgeons to be held
responsible for any inconvenience in the use of robots in surgery.
In general, within the programming world, several ethical conducts must be considered to
ensure that the machines are doing the exact operations they are intended to do. This is meant to
ensure the privacy of the patient and safety.

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 5
To provide a solution to this ethical dilemma, sound ethical behavior should be able to
come naturally from within the designers of these machines. Policies and guidelines should be
described to guide all manufactures as well as the programmers of the robot. Within the
guidelines, much focus should be on human life which will dictate the standards of modeling
surgical robots rather than dominance or winning the market. This will discourage the self-
centeredness of these designers and bring on board clearly defined specific codes of conduct
(Mattheis et al., 2017). These robotic surgery machines should be programmed in a way that
minimizes unethical outcomes.
Considering human diversity and several disabilities that human beings have, these
machines should be programmed to be in a position of operating under different situations to
create room for inclusivity. On top of this, much of the details should be availed to the public so
as to understand the processes involved in the designing and the way the machines are operating.
Through this, the public will not be caught by surprise, or blame anyone in the event
inconveniences happens in the operations. Sharing of knowledge and keeping patients informed
about robotic surgery is ethical conduct and should be included in the policy document
governing this sector.
I will not be wrong to say that this technology is increasing the gap between the patients
and the surgeon doing the operation. Despite the cameras and sensors installed in this machine,
there is a need for close contact between the parties (Yang et al., 2017). This contact is good
since the surgeon will be able to detect some occurrences with the patient that the sensors will
not be able to detect. It is ethical for this close contact to be in existence.

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 6
In conclusion, it is a great move to be able to conduct such delicate medical surgeries
with the help of these machines. But this is only possible when these machines are designed and
programmed with a consideration of ethical codes required within the community. Without this
consideration, humanity will be at danger since the main aim will be making money and winning
the market.

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 7
References
Edwards, T. L., Xue, K., Meenink, H. C. M., Beelen, M. J., Naus, G. J. L., Simunovic, M. P., ...
& MacLaren, R. E. (2018). First-in-human study of the safety and viability of intraocular
robotic surgery. Nature biomedical engineering, 2, 649.
Ferrarese, A., Pozzi, G., Borghi, F., Pellegrino, L., Di Lorenzo, P., Amato, B., ... & Capasso, E.
(2016). Informed consent in robotic surgery: quality of information and patient
perception. Open Medicine, 11(1), 279-285.
Howard, A., & Borenstein, J. (2018). The ugly truth about ourselves and our robot creations: The
problem of bias and social inequity. Science and engineering ethics, 24(5), 1521-1536.
Lang, S., Mattheis, S., Hasskamp, P., Lawson, G., Güldner, C., Mandapathil, M., ... & Remacle,
M. (2017). A European multicenter study evaluating the flex robotic system in transoral
robotic surgery. The Laryngoscope, 127(2), 391-395.
Lee, G. I., Lee, M. R., Green, I., Allaf, M., & Marohn, M. R. (2017). Surgeons’ physical
discomfort and symptoms during robotic surgery: a comprehensive ergonomic survey
study. Surgical endoscopy, 31(4), 1697-1706.
Mattheis, S., Hasskamp, P., Holtmann, L., Schäfer, C., Geisthoff, U., Dominas, N., & Lang, S.
(2017). Flex robotic system in transoral robotic surgery: the first 40 patients. Head &
neck, 39(3), 471-475.
Sheetz, K. H., & Dimick, J. B. (2019). Is it time for safeguards in the adoption of robotic
surgery?. Jama, 321(20), 1971-1972.

ETHICAL DISCUSSION 8
Yang, G. Z., Cambias, J., Cleary, K., Daimler, E., Drake, J., Dupont, P. E., ... & Santos, V. J.
(2017). Medical robotics—Regulatory, ethical, and legal considerations for increasing
levels of autonomy. Science Robotics, 2(4), 8638.