A SAGES guide to navigating a changing landscape and continuing to promote surgical excellence and opportunity for...

Since January 2025, new executive orders and legislation have had wide impact on healthcare and the environment in which surgeons practice.

The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) have reviewed the current executive orders, policies, and summarized its impact on our institutions, organizations, trainees, and patient care.

This article's primary objective is to inform surgeons about how these policies and changes may impact them in their day-to-day practice in an effort to help them navigate these changes. The implications of these policies in healthcare settings, in Surgery Departments, and National organizations are still in flux as real world implementation is still being evaluated. It is important to understand each individual organization and institution, the federal and state laws, as the impact of these laws can vary dramatically across the geographic location and entity type. There are also many legal challenges to proposed executive orders and legislation making it difficult to understand when these policies will go into effect and if they are in fact legal.

The long terms effects of the recent January 2025 legislation and executive orders are currently unknown. Increased knowledge, transparency, and understanding of these policies is crucial as organizations and institutions evaluate how to respond and navigate these changes.