Improved Surgical Techniques
The future of surgical techniques is already being defined by the development of minimally invasive surgical centers. Within such centers, the disciplines of radiology, anesthesia, surgery, and medicine interact and use combined services. Imaging modalities appear in operating rooms. Radiologists may perform certain procedures that were performed only by surgeons in the past. Surgeons may utilize instruments that allow visualization of organs or cavities of the body and surgery on them through small incisions. Tissue damage during surgery is lessened, wound healing is hastened, and recovery time is shortened. In the future, utilization of acute care hospitals will be by patients with higher acuity. Recovery and rehabilitation will be accomplished in sites peripheral to the hospital and in the home. Beyond the trend in minimally invasive surgery, there is expectation that some surgical procedures will be performed by robots directed by surgeons in remote locations. The possibility of a global hospital system based on imaging and real-time visualization will require mature communication systems. The architecture of the hospital of the future may be based on communication architecture. Again, demands for large centralized hospitals will lessen as technology becomes more portable and access to health care more widely distributed.