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Remote Healthcare Gains Momentum: From US Reimbursement to Transatlantic Robotic Surgery
This week the medtech industry is pointing clearly in one direction – remote patient care is no longer a nice-to-have, but something payers and hospitals are now willing to actually pay for. We take a look at what's changing in the US reimbursement system and how the global race in robotic telesurgery is unfolding.
01 · Telemedicine
The US Bets on Remote Monitoring – CMS Expands the ACCESS Program
On September 15, 2026, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an expansion of the ACCESS care model to include new treatment pathways [1]. Alongside its existing scope, the program will now also cover heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), substance use disorders, and tobacco cessation.
What's most interesting for medical device manufacturers is the financial mechanism behind this change. Facilities that use remote patient monitoring based on FDA-approved devices and software can count on additional financial support – provided the monitoring is paired with coordinated care and patient health education. This is no longer a marginal pilot program, but a concrete economic incentive built directly into the Medicare reimbursement model.
For companies making sensors, telemonitoring platforms, or software for remote care of cardiology and pulmonology patients, this is a clear signal that a large, regulated market is starting to treat such solutions as the standard of care rather than a technological add-on. It will be worth watching whether similar reimbursement mechanisms start appearing in Europe as well.
02 · Surgical Robotics
Robotic Telesurgery: China and India Lead the Way, the US Awaits Approval
While remote monitoring is gaining financial backing in the US, an even more advanced form of remote medicine is developing rapidly outside its borders. An analysis published on September 23, 2026 shows that Chinese and Indian surgical robot manufacturers – including MicroPort MedBot and SS Innovations – are currently setting the pace in telesurgery, with hundreds of remotely performed procedures already under their belt [2].
The piece cites groundbreaking cases that would have sounded like science fiction not long ago: a transatlantic prostatectomy and a remote brain thrombectomy – the removal of a clot causing a stroke – performed by a surgeon located on a completely different part of the globe from the patient.
Meanwhile, the United States still lacks surgical robots formally approved for procedures performed remotely. The authors of the analysis point to a tangle of barriers – licensing, reimbursement, and regulatory – that are effectively holding back the development of telesurgery in the US market, even though robotic systems are already technologically ready for it. This comparison illustrates well that the pace of adopting medical innovation today depends not just on the technology itself, but equally on the legal environment and financing models.
Summary
Summary
Both of this week's stories share a common thread – the distance between patient and doctor is no longer an obstacle, and healthcare systems and device manufacturers are increasingly bold in taking advantage of that. In the US, this shows up at the level of remote monitoring reimbursement; globally, it shows up in real operations carried out by robots controlled from another continent. The direction is clear, though as the example of US telesurgery shows, regulation can still be a bottleneck.
We'll be discussing how these trends translate into equipment, software, and the organization of healthcare facilities very soon at Warsaw Medical Expo 2026 – International Medical Fair. We invite manufacturers, distributors, and hospital representatives to share their experiences and see the latest solutions live.
Invitation
Remote patient monitoring and robotic telesurgery are no longer the future – they're the current reality of the medical market. See live the devices and systems behind these changes at Warsaw Medical Expo 2026 – International Medical Fair. Meet equipment manufacturers, e-health software providers, and experts who will show you where the market is heading. Save the date today.
Warsaw Medical Expo 2026