Surgery in the 2020s: Implications of advancing technology for patients and the workforce

As the surgical workforce, surgical techniques and patient expectations change, the Royal College of Surgeons of England is actively engaged in taking forward the recommendations of its Future of Surgery Commission. Here the commission's chair articulates the implications for smaller hospitals and the need for achieving interoperability and safe sharing of patient data across different systems, so enabling immediate access to patients' records across healthcare organisations; extension of regulation to surgical care practitioners, reflecting the recent decision to regulate physician associates and physician assistants; introducing a UK-wide registry of surgical devices, with tracking for implantable devices; implementing a robotics strategy to help the NHS plan and purchase new surgical robotics, as well as monitor their use and the effect on outcomes; and investing in genomic medicine and artificial intelligence for diagnostics, and in stem-cell research for treatment.