Your doctor may soon be a robot, or so the whispers warn. Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi movie? Well, maybe you should ask the doctor who appears on the screen of InTouch Technologies’ RP-7 Remote Presence Robotic System, a maneuverable robotic system designed to allow doctors to video conference with their patients from remote locations.

Dr. Alex Gandsas, of Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital and holder of stock options at InTouch Technologies, introduced the machine to hospital administrators as a way to closely monitor patients after weight-loss surgeries in which they He specializes. Since its introduction, its patients’ length of stays have been shorter. In Gandsas’ study published earlier this month in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 92 of 376 patients had additional robotic visits, and all 92 received medical clearance to go home faster than those who did not receive records with the teleconferencing system. Shorter patient stays would be a welcome change for hospitals, health insurance companies and patients alike, all of whom have a vested interest in sending patients home faster.

While further studies certainly need to be performed by clinicians with no financial interest in the technology, these preliminary results are promising. Gandsas did not use the robotic visits to replace his personal records with patients, only to augment them. Neither InTouch Technologies nor Dr. Gandsas envision the “Bari,” or as it is known, to completely replace face-to-face visits with health professionals. Instead, the joystick-controlled system, which employs cameras, a video screen and a microphone, is intended to complement traditional doctor visits and allow patients and healthcare workers to receive advice from qualified physicians and specialists when otherwise it would be impossible. Doctors may soon be able to provide their patients with additional daily checkups and answer questions much faster, all while sitting in their own homes or away from the area.

However, Sinai Hospital is not the only one with this technology. In fact, robots have been used for some time to help with patient care, including guiding stroke patients through therapy and helping them play video games. Many prosthetic devices are now at least partially robotic, and if it weren’t for a certain amount of robotic technology, the public wouldn’t be able to communicate with such brilliant minds as Steven Hawkins.

Johns Hopkins also has a robotic teleconferencing system to help communicate with patients who need a translator when one is not available at the hospital. The use of such technology could have tremendously positive effects on the Texas healthcare system, particularly in Dallas, Houston and Austin, which handle a large volume of non-English speaking patients. Lack of proper communication is a major obstacle to receiving quality health care for many immigrants in Texas. The lack of quality health care, in turn, can lead to serious public health problems, including the transmission of communicable diseases.

Approximately 120 RP-7 remote presence robotic systems are currently in use around the world, with plans to deploy many more in the coming years. China is already using similar systems to help deal with the lack of health care in inaccessible rural areas.

Dr. Louis Kavoussi, chair of the department of urology at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, became especially interested in this new trend and conducted a study to monitor the effect of technology on patient care. The study did not show a decrease in patient satisfaction or an increase in complications due to teleconference visits. The technology, Kavoussi said, is really “rudimentary” compared to other systems in development. The need for fear is minimal.

There are relatively few of the InTouch Technologies systems available and no further study has yet been done. However, if robotic teleconferencing is used as a complement to in-person visits by physicians, it has the potential to dramatically improve many aspects of healthcare, from how quickly patients’ questions are answered to how many visits they receive in down to whether or not rural residents receive adequate care, to how well (or even if) they are provided with a translator to explain their symptoms. States like Texas, in particular, with a shortage of doctors and a large volume of non-English-speaking patients, will benefit. So maybe robots in hospitals are not something to be afraid of. In fact, they may even end their unpleasant stay a few days faster.

Being aware of medical technology is an important part of taking care of your health. The way you take care of yourself will no doubt affect you as you age, and eventually your wallet as well.