Alabama’s proposal to use robotic ultrasounds to close care gaps is being praised by national leaders but facing pushback from local physicians, KFF Health News reported Feb. 12.
Alabama is facing above national average rates for infant mortality on top of steadily declining access to obstetric services. In 1980, 45 of the state’s 55 counties had hospital-based obstetric services. In 2025, only 15 had that care. Practices in the state also reported issues recruiting more OB-GYNs, which is further limiting access. To fill the gaps, many clinicians provide obstetric care through phone or telehealth consultation.
But the Alabama Perinatal Quality Collaborative has proposed implementing robotic ultrasounds to further access and quality. The goal is to support places where there is no care available, Britta Cedergren, director of the collaborative, told KFF Health News. The robots would not replace trained workers.
The robots were proposed as part of the state’s application for the Rural Health Transformation Program. Alabama is the only state to propose using robots to fill workforce gaps. During a January White House roundtable, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, called the idea “pretty cool.” The robots are part of a larger plan to connect small rural providers and healthcare facilities that lack maternal and fetal services to regional care hubs that can provide services digitally, including through robotic ultrasounds. Alabama was awarded $203 million for the first five years of the program, which includes workforce plans to train physicians, emergency services and nurse-midwives.
However, OB-GYNs in rural Alabama told KFF Health News the robots would not decrease maternal and infant mortality, and they worry that patients would skip care with providers if they can see a robot instead.
Robotic ultrasound technology was first approved for use in the U.S. in 2017. The robots cost between $250,000 to $350,000 and have been used with success in some Canadian cities. A 2022 paper from the University of Saskatchewan examined 87 telerobotic ultrasounds and found that 70% of the time, the robotic ultrasound made travel for care unnecessary. Almost all of the patients reported they would use the robot again.
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