Takeaways • Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) is now an option in many specialties and for adult and pediatric patients; RAS-related ethical issues include access and patient privacy. • Intuitive Surgical continues to dominate the marketplace, but many companies are working on expanding their range of options. • Some current trends and…

Read More

Know the law. It could save your patients’ lives and your staff members’ practices. This is the advice of several medical legal experts to OR leaders to prevent lapses in patient protections that risk injury or even death. Beyond ensuring safe surgery and preventing litigation, perioperative nursing experts who advance…

Read More

Editor’s Note: This page is a companion piece to the main article, "Health systems embrace partnerships, new training pathways to address surgical technologist shortage."   The Association of Surgical Technologists (AST), a 55,000-member organization, acknowledges the growing shortage of surgical technologists (STs) but is raising alarms over the rise of…

Read More

Roughly 41,000 surgical procedures happen in the US every day. Each one depends on surgical technologists (STs), the professionals who prepare the OR, hand off instruments, and ensure a sterile environment to prevent infections that affect up to 3% of all patients. The profession’s importance is reflected in AORN’s recommended…

Read More

Editor's Note University of California San Francisco (UCSF) became the first university to certify medical students as robotic surgery bedside assistants, giving future surgeons unprecedented hands-on training in a rapidly growing field, an August 25 UCSF news release reports. The program reportedly positions learners alongside attending surgeons, nurses, and scrub…

Read More

Editor's Note Early findings indicate the da Vinci 5 (DV5) platform’s force feedback technology can reduce the amount of force surgeons apply to tissue, potentially minimizing trauma during colorectal surgery. According to a pilot study published in the American Journal of Surgery on July 10, the feature allows surgeons to…

Read More

Editor's Note Healthcare providers, payers, and analytics teams face sweeping ICD-10 changes this fall, with the 2026 code updates taking effect October 1, 2025, Wolters Kluwer July 14 reports. The release includes 614 new codes, 12 invalidations, 642 billability changes, 88 terminology revisions, and the creation of an entirely new…

Read More

Editor's Note Running effective emergency drills in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) requires strategic resource use, role clarity, and consistent adaptation, Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society July 8 reports. Drawing on insights from Laura Schneider, senior clinical director at AMSURG, the piece outlines practical steps to ensure ASCs can respond effectively…

Read More

Editor's Note Robotic-assisted surgery is proving to be a strong option for emergency colorectal procedures, offering lower complication rates, shorter hospital stays, and fewer conversions to open surgery than conventional approaches. According to a July 23 article from the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, this approach—long established in…

Read More

In July 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed sweeping changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2026. Among the most impactful updates is the launch of the Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM)—a mandatory value-based payment program focused on heart failure and low back pain.…

Read More