JURD

Dr. Ferreira and colleagues from Brazil presented a nice review about telesurgery in Urology. He reviewed literature aiming for the surgical success rate as a primary objective. Secondly, he presented patients’ outcomes and the network system. He concluded that despite the limitations, there was evidence demonstrating that robotic surgery in the genitourinary system is safe and feasible; however, it is a subject that must be well discussed, and further studies must be carried out [5]. Telemedicine has the potential to break geographical limitations of medical care. It is an exciting and promising field with boundless opportunities. The implementation of telemedical practices can greatly impact the quality of patient care; in addition, it serves as a tool for enhancing the training of resident physicians and combating pandemic-related confinements. There are still several barriers impeding a full integration of telemedicine, such as cost, ethical considerations, security, bandwidth, latency, and licensure difficulties. Nevertheless, the future of telemedicine, specifically telementoring and telesurgery, promises several improvements to tackle those barriers [6]. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as an important tool in surgery, particularly in telesurgery and telementoring. However, its potential to enhance data transmission efficiency and reliability in these fields remains unclear. There is a need for collaborative research to drive the evolution of telesurgery and telementoring in modern robotic surgery [7].Telemedicine constitutes a quite appealing alternative for the foreseeable future. In urology, telemedicine confers many potential advantages, such as fewer patient contacts, lower infection rates among the health care staff, patient convenience, and a reduction in transportationrelated emissions. The acceptance by the patients and the potential relief for physicians and staff are high. Accordingly, the economic benefits are successfully reflected in the health care system. Telemedicine, in the end, has its own limitations, requiring prudent implementation through the protection of personal health records and the guarantee of professional guidelines [8].

The diffusion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections has recently increased the interest in telehealth, which is the adoption of telecommunication to deliver any health care activity. The available literature indicates that telemedicine has been adopted successfully in selected patients with several common clinical urological conditions, including prostate cancer, uncomplicated urinary stones, uncomplicated urinary infections, urinary incontinence, or pelvic organ prolapse. Likely, the COVID-19 pandemic will give a significant boost to the use of telemedicine, but more robust data on long-term efficacy, safety, and costs are necessary [9]. To conclude, our role as urologists is to carefully define the telesurgery position in everyday urological practice, familiarize it with all the emerging technologies, and provide tools for its optimal operation.