Improving efficiency in robotic-assisted surgery: a practical guide for surgeons

The integration of robotic systems into minimally invasive surgery offers significant advantages, including enhanced precision, reduced invasiveness, and improved patient outcomes. However, sustaining these benefits requires optimization of operational efficiency to justify the substantial resource investment associated with robotic technologies. This review examines strategies to enhance efficiency in robotic-assisted surgery using a four-pillar framework: (1) team structure and leadership; (2) organization of care; (3) procedural standardization; and (4) parallel task overlap. Evidence from the literature and practice-informed observations suggests that well-coordinated multidisciplinary teams, structured perioperative planning, and optimized operating room organization can reduce delays and improve workflow efficiency. Standardization of equipment setup and surgical steps further enhances procedural predictability, while parallel tasking minimizes downtime and improves operating room capacity. When combined with continuous training and iterative process evaluation, these strategies may optimize robotic surgical performance, improve cost efficiency, and support high-quality, patient-centered care. Similar content being viewed by others Data availability No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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The other authors declare no conflicts of interest. C.M and S.B are both proctors for Intuitive surgical. Additional information Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law. About this article Cite this article Maene, C., Youssef, Y., Guerra, S. et al. Improving efficiency in robotic-assisted surgery: a practical guide for surgeons. J Robotic Surg 20, 294 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11701-026-03222-x Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11701-026-03222-x