AMA <i>Code of Medical Ethics</i>’ Opinions Related to Robotic Surgery

Abstract

More frequent use of robotic-assisted surgeries raises several ethical questions about care quality and justice, informed decision making and consent, conflicts of interest, innovation in health care practice, and continuing education.The AMA Code of Medical Ethics does not directly address use of robotic-assisted surgery but offers several relevant opinions.Robotic-Assisted Surgery Robotic-assisted surgical procedures have become increasingly common.A recent cohort study found that the use of robotic surgery for all general surgery procedures performed between 2012 and 2018 increased from 1.8% to 15.1%. 1 Robotic-assisted surgery will likely continue to grow its market share.In 2022, the global surgical robotics market was valued at 6.3 billion USD, and it is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 15.9% from 2023 to 2032, with a projected 2032 value of 26.8 billion USD. 2