"In the past two years, the market share of domestic surgical robots in China has continued to increase, from 32.61% in 2023 to 48.89% in 2024." In the sharing activity of "price project enabling medical science and technology innovation and development" held by the National Health Insurance Bureau on January 20, Zhang Xu, an academician of the CAS Member and professor of the Department of Urology Medicine of the PLA General Hospital, said that the research and innovation of domestic surgical robots has made great progress, but compared with 42% of American robots participating in surgery, the proportion in China is only 6.33%, and the value of robots in surgery still needs to be fully utilized. In order to promote the high-quality development of the surgical robot industry and help more patients benefit from precision surgery empowered by robots, the National Healthcare Security Administration today released the "Guidelines for the Establishment of Medical Service Price Projects for Surgical and Treatment Auxiliary Operations (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), which use medical prices as the "baton" to streamline the "logic" of surgical robot fees, and promote disruptive innovative technologies to quickly reach hospital beds through scientific and reasonable price project plans. Robots also need to be paid according to their work. In the past, surgical robots were charged based on factors such as surgical approach, application site, and domestic and foreign brands. This "logic" of charging based on equipment makes the charging items of surgical robots unclear, and even includes items such as "start-up fees", which increases the burden on patients and makes it difficult for medical insurance to intervene. Surgical robots represent the development direction of precision medicine, and their level of participation in surgery and contribution to promoting precision surgery determine their clinical value. ”Wang Xiaoning, Director of the Medical Pricing and Tendering Procurement Department of the National Medical Insurance Administration, stated that the guidelines have established three pricing items for surgical robots, including navigation, participation in execution, and precise execution. For example, robots that provide visualization conditions for surgery through ultrasound technology can charge surgical ultrasound guidance assistance fees; By using a surgical robotic arm platform to assist medical personnel in manipulating surgical instruments through mapping control, and participating in the construction of channels, drilling, and other surgical steps, a surgical robotic arm auxiliary operation fee can be charged for participating in the execution; When assisting in the precise completion of all or key steps of the surgery, fees that match the precise execution can be charged. By allowing robots to be paid according to their work, surgical robots with higher participation, more comprehensive functions, and more precise execution can obtain higher charging coefficients. This means that products with OEM or only "planning functions" are difficult to "fish in the mud" in clinical fee items, and only hardcore technologies that truly solve clinical pain points, achieve precise execution, and generate clear clinical value can obtain reasonable returns. The guide has refined the charging items and clarified the corresponding charging scenarios, and the charging 'logic' reflected in it acknowledges the clinical value of robots. ”Zhao Wuyi, Director of Product Marketing Department at Shenzhen Jingfeng Medical Technology Co., Ltd., stated that the company's independently developed porous and single hole endoscopic surgical robots have completed over 14000 clinical surgeries. Recognizing the clinical value of surgical robots will further shorten the promotion cycle of new technologies and promote market recognition of independently developed products. With the assistance of surgical robots, surgeries that originally generated large incisions can be completed through porous or even single hole operations to promote large-scale and digital applications. ”Zhang Xu stated that the technology requirements for single hole robots are relatively high, and multiple domestic companies have already obtained product approvals in this field. With the support of policies, medical institutions with conditions will be further guided to use surgical robots for remote surgery, which will help further expand the clinical application scale of precision surgery. To further promote the scale application of surgical robotic arms, the guideline prospectively sets up a "remote surgical assistance operation fee" pricing project. Experts in medical resource gathering areas who perform remote surgeries for patients in other areas can be charged according to the guideline project. As a representative of the company that produces the world's first approved remote surgical robot product, Shu Biao, Director of Technology and Business Development at Shanghai Minimally Invasive Medical Robot Company, stated that remote surgical robots have completed a large number of complex human surgeries and can provide practical and feasible technical solutions for patients in remote areas. The establishment of remote surgical assistance operation fees in the guidelines will help more high-quality surgical robots enter the market, benefit more patients with advanced medical technology, and promote the balance of high-quality medical resources. Wang Xiaoning stated that the National Healthcare Security Administration will comprehensively complete the compilation of guidelines, promote the basic unification of national medical service pricing items, use guidelines to promote the clinical translation and application of innovative technologies and related medical services, and ensure that the public can obtain high-quality, efficient, and affordable medical services. (New Society)