The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has published results of its AAOS Member Insights Panel, a national research panel of 524 orthopedic surgeons, on numerous issues that relate to their practice.
AAOS states that the panel “captures surgeons’ views and experiences with innovation, technology, and the products and services needed to run a practice amid growing challenges. It also documents what surgeons need most.”
Some findings reported by AAOS:
- Thirty percent of respondents named robotics/robotic surgery as “the single most exciting innovation in clinical practice,” with orthopedic surgeons relaying that “it often provides better implant positioning, alignment, surgical precision, and soft-tissue balance.”
- Artificial intelligence (AI) ranked second among surgical advancements, with 22% of respondents noting its growing role in surgical planning, diagnostics and clinical documentation. AI ranked first among “practice tools that may lighten clinical and administrative burdens,” including AI-driven efficiencies such as tools for insurance coding, dictation, compliance, and other time-consuming tasks.
- Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed-reality computer-assisted tools “are gaining traction in surgical training and education, according to 11% of respondents.”
- Among desired non-clinical technology tools that “could improve efficiency in daily operations” and trim administrative tasks to “enable them to spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork,” coding and billing resources topped the list at 42%, followed by AI-powered documentation at 25%.
- When evaluating new technologies, 40% of respondents said they would ask themselves if the new tech would improve workflows within their practice, reduce the operating room footprint, and fuel overall efficiency from the operating room to the office.
- Nearly half of respondents reported that reimbursement or administrative burdens sometimes “block them from trying new technologies,” while 29% said they were “often or almost always” a barrier.
- More than one in four surgeons said they are “either simply getting by or struggling, suggesting that technology alone cannot address many of the profession’s biggest challenges.” Survey respondents cited numerous sources of stress, including “intense pressure to perform (53%), the emotional impact of patient outcomes (50%), growing administrative workloads (46%), and the difficulty of achieving a healthy work-life balance (43%).” They also “pointed to the strain of dealing with insurance companies, specifically the battle for authorization and payment, as well as the flawed structure of the United States healthcare system.”
- “Conversations around mental health remain difficult for many orthopedic surgeons. Some 27% of respondents said they found it difficult to discuss mental health at work. Only 54% said they felt comfortable doing so.”
AAOS quotes one surgeon as representative of many others: “It is time to take the focus back to what really matters, instead of metrics created by people who are not in medicine.”
