While robots lack the bedside manner of Marcus Welby, robo-docs are finding a place in hospitals. Looking much like Star Wars' R2-D2, the 5-foot-5 robot sports a computer screen for a head that displays a live video image of the physician. It scoots around on wheels, talks to patients, listens and gives orders. Doctors communicate with patients via a wireless network. They see and hear the patient on a video screen and control the robot's movement.

Initially tested at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Md., the robots have been deployed at 17 hospitals throughout the country, says Courtney Knight, spokesperson for manufacturer InTouch Health, Santa Barbara, Calif. "Patient response to the robots has been very positive," says Louis Kavoussi, M.D., a Johns Hopkins urologist, who uses the robot to assist him in following up with patients after surgery.

Hospitals use the robots to fulfill several primary needs: to improve intensivists' accessibility to critically ill patients, to provide quicker access to specialists for emergency department patients, and to increase physician monitoring of patients on medical-surgical floors.

Detroit Medical Center deployed 10 robots throughout its hospitals to provide greater interaction with patients and to allow physicians to consult with other staff. "Most of us at Children's are specialists who don't exist anywhere else in the area," says Michael Klein, M.D., pediatric surgeon, at DMC's Children's Hospital of Michigan. "The robots allow us to consult with doctors on pediatric cases at other EDs from remote locations more quickly and efficiently. "

Insurance does not reimburse for robot visits, Klein says. DMC is gathering data to demonstrate their value, but he predicts that reimbursement may be several years down the road.