What robots are doing in hospitals right now
Delivery and pharmacy automation are proven; UV disinfection has mixed evidence; care-home robots have been abandoned by the operators who tried them.
16Jobs robots do for a facility today
16Independent deployment records behind this page
Tick the jobs you want a robot to take
Each card shows how mature the job isWhere this does not work — read before you enquire
- Robots that cannot call the lift need a human escort. One large hospital programme needed an escort between floors and was later ended as not financially sustainable. Lift integration is the first question, not the last.
- UV disinfection is contested, not proven. Promise the operational effect — a documented terminal clean — not an infection number.
- Delivery robots can annoy clinical staff in corridors. Budget change management, not just robots.
- UV adds time to every room turnover. On a full ward that is a bed-capacity cost.
- Care-home robots have been abandoned by the operators who tried them. No sustained care-home record exists with numbers.
- Layoffs get reported next to robot programmes. Whether or not they are linked, decide how you will answer the question.
Unlabelled points come from operator-reported or independently observed deployments.
Built on 16 independent deployment records. Robot prices are vendor or reseller list figures and vary by market — confirm with the vendor.