Artificial intelligence-mediated surgical center management: limitations, application, and opportunities

Introduction: The technological revolution is currently transforming healthcare services. Therefore, we set out to analyze how the application of artificial intelligence improves management processes in surgical centers, as well as the limitations and opportunities of its incorporation into healthcare services. Methods: A literature review study was conducted to comprehensively analyze articles obtained from indexed databases such as SCOPUS, PUBMED, Scielo, and Latindex, using a combination of Boolean operators (AND and OR) with keywords in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. which was classified and organized in an Excel matrix for analysis according to the CASPe rubric guidelines, which facilitated the assessment of their scientific and academic quality. Results: The healthcare system faces several challenges that hinder the incorporation of new technologies into its administrative, care, teaching, and research processes, considering investment, ethical dilemmas, lack of digital skills, and economic investment. However, their integration shows opportunities in terms of resource optimization, decision-making, lower margin of error in surgical interventions, and continuous postoperative follow-up. Conclusions: Technological transformation enables effective management with the incorporation of artificial intelligence, which improves administrative and care processes in surgical centers. However, its use presents challenges in terms of the ethical, training, and operational gaps in AI, considering the variety of types available in the technology market, which requires more scientific evidence on the impact of these technologies on healthcare systems, professionals, families, and patients.