Description
In this engaging presentation, Marion Campbell discusses the evaluation of robotic surgery, emphasizing the importance of measuring core outcomes for effective assessments. She introduces the concept of Core Outcome Sets (COS), which are defined as the essential data points to be collected during clinical evaluations in the field of robotic-assisted surgery. Campbell highlights the need for standardization due to the widespread impact of robotic surgery on various stakeholders, including patients, surgeons, healthcare organizations, and populations at large.
Throughout her talk, Campbell details the systematic approach taken to develop these core outcomes via the RoboCOS study, referencing extensive literature reviews and stakeholder input from patients, surgeons, and health commissioners. This research resulted in identifying over 700 outcomes previously reported in trials, underscoring significant inconsistency across studies. Through the implementation of an international Delphi survey and consensus meetings, the study distilled this long list down to ten essential outcomes that reflect a comprehensive assessment covering patient, surgeon, organizational, and population perspectives.
The identified core outcomes include critical metrics such as disease-specific quality of life, overall treatment effect, precision and accuracy, as well as equity of access across different patient demographics. Campbell emphasizes that while these ten outcomes represent the minimum set needed for evaluations, they provide a foundation for establishing consistency and promoting future research in robotic surgery. The presentation concludes with a call to action for the medical community to adopt these standardized measurements in order to enhance the understanding and effectiveness of robotic surgical interventions.