Anesthesia Management
Anesthesia is an integral part of any surgical procedure, for keeping the patient comfortable and stable. In addition to taking care of patients during surgery, anesthesia professionals are responsible for assessing whether the patient is healthy enough to safely tolerate the planned procedure. They are also responsible for taking care of patients immediately after the surgical procedure to ensure that they are on their way to a safe recovery.
Anesthesia professionals in the typical community hospital are not usually employed by hospitals. Instead they frequently work as part of a private group that is contracted by the hospital. They are responsible for the clinical delivery of anesthesia care as well as the day-to-day management of the business aspects of their practice such as billing for their services. The group concept was the natural result of anesthesia professions joining forces to be able to provide effective anesthesia coverage to hospitals twenty four hours per day, seven days per week.
Anesthesia management organizations emerged shortly thereafter as a natural evolution. They assume the business and managerial aspects of an anesthesia practice such as recruiting physicians and certified registered nurse anesthetists, scheduling, billing and collections. Like most healthcare specialists, anesthesia services providers face an increasing set of economic and regulatory challenges. Not welcome by all healthcare professions, management organizations allow healthcare professionals to focus their attention on what is most important….patient care.
Haroon W. Chaudhry MD
