Opinions and Attitudes of Greek Hospitals’ Personnel towards the Use of Robotic Surgery

Introduction: The use of robotic surgery enables the complete picture of the patient before and during surgery, reducing the likelihood of errors. However, the opinions and attitudes of health workers in relation to robotic surgery have not been investigated in Greek Hospitals. Aim: The exploration of the opinions and attitudes of the Hellenic Personnel Hospital regarding the application and the results of robotic surgery in the treatment of patients. Material and Μethod: A quantitative descriptive study was conducted during December 2016-January 2017, in a random sample of selected hospitals in Attica where robotic surgery was performed. A total of 53 people from the hospital staff participated, who filled out a questionnaire created for research purposes and consisted of 21 questions related to demographic data, as well as views and attitudes about parameters of robotic surgery. Descriptive statistics were applied to the MS Excel 2007 accounting package. Results: The practitioners involved in the research deal with robotics because it offers many benefits to patients while at the same time it is an interesting field. The overwhelming majority reported that robotic surgery is applied to digestive system interventions. More specifically, 43% of the sample reported that robotic surgery significantly reduces hospitalization period, 51% that it reduces blood requirements, 49% that it reduces post-operative pain, 74% reported that post-operative complications are decreased, 56% claimed that it increases the number of treated cases, 73% that it increases patient’s satisfaction and 48% said that robotic surgery significantly reduces the time required to complete an intervention. Conclusions: Robotic surgery allows patients to recover rapidly after interventions, with much shorter hospitalization time, significantly reduced post-operative pain, fewer complications, and therefore better clinical outcomes.