In a major boost to India’s healthcare landscape, Fortis Hospital Mohali has partnered with Intuitive, a global leader in robotic-assisted surgery, to establish the country’s first Total Program Observation (TPO) site in a non-metropolitan city. The initiative marks a significant milestone in expanding advanced surgical care and professional training beyond India’s metropolitan centres.
The collaboration has been launched to strengthen robotic-assisted surgery programmes by providing hospitals and healthcare professionals with an opportunity to observe and learn from an established centre of excellence. The Total Program Observation model enables visiting surgeons, clinical teams, hospital administrators, and healthcare leaders to gain practical insights into programme development, clinical workflows, patient safety, multidisciplinary coordination, governance, surgeon training, leadership, and long-term operational planning.
Unlike traditional training programmes that focus solely on technology, the TPO initiative offers a comprehensive understanding of how successful robotic surgery programmes are built, managed, and sustained. The objective is to help healthcare institutions across the country establish high-quality, sustainable robotic surgery services while maintaining the highest standards of patient care.
Fortis Hospital Mohali has emerged as one of North India’s leading robotic surgery centres, having successfully performed more than 3,600 robotic-assisted surgeries across specialties including gynaecology, gastrointestinal oncology, urology, and head and neck surgery. The programme is supported by 18 robotic surgeons and two da Vinci Surgical Systems, serving patients from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and neighbouring regions.
Leaders from both Fortis and Intuitive emphasised that the collaboration represents a shared commitment to advancing minimally invasive healthcare through structured education, peer-to-peer learning, and the exchange of best practices. They highlighted that the initiative will help strengthen clinical capabilities, improve programme governance, and enhance patient safety while supporting the next phase of robotic-assisted surgery in India.
The partnership also reflects the growing role of non-metropolitan healthcare institutions in driving medical innovation. By expanding access to advanced surgical training and encouraging knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals, the collaboration is expected to contribute significantly to India’s rapidly evolving robotic surgery ecosystem.
As robotic-assisted surgery continues to redefine modern healthcare, the Fortis Mohali and Intuitive partnership stands as an important step towards building a stronger, more accessible, and future-ready healthcare system that extends world-class medical expertise beyond major metropolitan cities.
