I am a surgical device rep in an adjacent product category and have become pretty familiar with the daVinci system. I've seen impressive growth in the number of daVinci systems in the hospitals I call on and a big increase in case volume, specifically in the GYN space. There have been some CSR vacancies in my territory over the past few years, and I always get a recruiting call promising big money and amazing growth opportunities. Based on the research I have done, there does not seem to be any remarkable clinical benefit to robotics on their "bread and butter" cases (GYN and URO), they usually take longer, and the reported disposable costs are higher compared to non-robotic laparoscopic surgery.
The technology is amazing, and there are (and will continue to be) places where robotics is a game-changer. However, I'm wondering how long hospitals and insurance companies continue to pay a premium for robotic surgery on relatively routine cases, and how will Intuitive continue to hit the aggressive sales projections all the recruiters are spouting? They have done an AMAZING job of selling from the C-suite down thus far, but it seems to me like this may be unsustainable.
The technology is amazing, and there are (and will continue to be) places where robotics is a game-changer. However, I'm wondering how long hospitals and insurance companies continue to pay a premium for robotic surgery on relatively routine cases, and how will Intuitive continue to hit the aggressive sales projections all the recruiters are spouting? They have done an AMAZING job of selling from the C-suite down thus far, but it seems to me like this may be unsustainable.