This white paper documents the consensus opinion of the authors and Artificial Intelligence Surgery editorial board members regarding common requirements needed to implement routine recording of data in the operating room. The statements were agreed upon by all authors and they attempted to outline common barriers that need to be addressed when implementing such recordings.

The text discusses the historical development of telemedicine and underscores its significance in clinical practice. It traces the concept back to 1910, specifically mentioning telecardiology’s early use with a telephone-connected stethoscope. NASA contributed to telemedicine by remotely monitoring astronaut John Glenn’s physiological parameters during his space flight in the 1960s. A notable achievement in 1965 involved performing an aortic valve operation in Houston, Texas, with real-time visual contact maintained via an intercontinental satellite to a university in Geneva, Switzerland. The introduction of telecommunication technologies in medicine gained momentum with widespread access to global teleinformatic networks, leading to advancements like surgical robots.