Rural Hospital Pipeline Partner

Expanding Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery in Rural Hospitals

Minimally invasive surgery continues to reshape surgical care across the country. For rural hospitals, the challenge is implementing advanced surgical capability while maintaining efficiency, staffing stability, and financial sustainability.

Intuitive works with rural hospitals to expand access to minimally invasive surgery through robotic-assisted surgical systems, training programs, and ongoing clinical support. These programs are designed to help rural care teams perform more complex procedures locally while improving patient outcomes and operational performance.

Rural Healthcare Focus

  • Access to minimally invasive surgery
  • Improved patient outcomes
  • Surgical program growth
  • Workforce recruitment and retention

Solutions for Rural Hospitals

Robotic-Assisted Surgical Technology
Supports minimally invasive approaches across multiple surgical specialties, helping rural hospitals perform procedures locally that might otherwise require referral.

Clinical Training and Education
Simulation training, surgeon education, and remote mentoring help rural care teams develop and maintain minimally invasive surgical programs.

Operational Support
Programs designed to help hospitals improve surgical throughput, optimize staffing models, and expand procedure capability.

Community Engagement
Patient education and outreach programs help communities understand minimally invasive treatment options available locally.

Designed for Rural Hospitals

  • ~1–2 days faster recovery compared to open surgery
  • ~45% fewer complications associated with robotic-assisted surgery compared to open procedures
  • ~75% fewer transfusions and ~30% fewer readmissions reported in some procedures
  • AI-enabled insights, remote mentoring, and simulation training support rural providers

Measurable Impact

  • 25.4% increase in procedure contribution margin
  • $14.5 million in cost avoidance linked to improved clinical outcomes

Rural Success Story

Sacred Heart RiverBend Hospital, part of the PeaceHealth system, expanded access to gynecologic minimally invasive surgery through its da Vinci robotic surgery program.

The program increased access to minimally invasive procedures for women across Oregon, reduced the number of open surgeries, and helped patients—many traveling from rural communities—return to work and daily life sooner.

Today, 43% of the hospital’s surgical patients come from nonurban areas, including more than 26% from large and small rural communities.

Why Rural Hospitals Work With Intuitive

  • 30 years of surgical technology experience
  • More than 20 million procedures performed using da Vinci systems
  • Global network of 88,000+ trained surgeons
  • 43,000+ peer-reviewed publications supporting robotic-assisted surgery

Learn More

Explore Intuitive’s rural surgical resources and program:
https://gateway.intuitive.com/wcc/experience/intuitive/4403013/5188744/rural-health-transformation-plan

Contact

For more information or to discuss how these programs may support your hospital:

Allison Kramer
Senior Marketing Manager
📞 (469) 346-6315
✉️ allison.kramer@intusurg.com