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Organizations representing over 140,000 physicians on the front lines of health care delivery strongly oppose the Biden administration’s giveaway to insurance companies in its rule to define the independent dispute resolution (IDR) process established in the No Surprises Act. The rule, released today, is clearly not in line with congressional intent and will lead to drastic cuts to payments for in-network and out-of-network (OON) physicians alike, jeopardizing access for millions of American patients.

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CHICAGO – Higher socioeconomic status does not lead to equal mortality rates for minority children undergoing surgery compared to white children. Cancer patients may live longer if they are given an anti-nausea drug before surgery. Laboring women with symptomatic COVID-19 are more likely to have cesarean sections than those who are asymptomatic. These studies are among the significant research being presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2021, the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), Oct. 8-12, in San Diego.

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CHICAGO - Drug overdose deaths broke records during 2020, and while the pandemic no doubt contributed, surgery plays an often-overlooked role in America’s ongoing opioid epidemic because many patients continue to use their prescribed opioids months after their procedures. Pain medicine specialists are leading the way in addressing the opioid epidemic by developing strategies to reduce opioid misuse related to surgery, from helping to ease pain before the procedure to ensuring at-risk patients have access to naloxone to prevent an accidental overdose, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

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Medical title misappropriation is an ongoing concern in health care, and this week the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists made the decision to deceive patients by formally changing its name to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. The American Society of Anesthesiologists condemns AANA’s organizational name change and encouragement of its members’ use of the term “nurse anesthesiologist,” which will confuse patients and create discord in the care setting, ultimately risking patient safety.

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A study published today in Anesthesia & Analgesia® shows that a significant pay gap is associated with gender in the compensation of physician anesthesiologists even after adjusting for potential factors, including age, hours worked, geographic practice region, practice type, position and job selection criteria. Women anesthesiologists are 56% less likely to be paid at the higher end of salary ranges compared to men anesthesiologists. The study was funded by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

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All patients undergoing non-emergency surgeries or procedures should continue to have preoperative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of vaccination status, according to an updated guidance from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists today announced Masimo, a maker of innovative, noninvasive patient monitoring technologies, as an ASA Industry Supporter for the ninth year, supporting the work of the Society and physician anesthesiologists to improve patient safety and reduce reliance on opioids during or following surgical procedures.

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Amid the new surge of COVID-19 cases across the U.S., the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and eight professional societies associated with the specialty, are strongly encouraging the nation’s health care workers and all eligible Americans to get fully vaccinated with one of the COVID-19 vaccines. ASA and the associated societies remind the public that widespread vaccination is the most effective way to reduce illness and death.

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Scientific evidence strongly supports that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease, occurred when a virus circulating in animals transferred to humans, according to a commentary publishing in the August edition of ASA Monitor, the official news publication of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists today applaud Gov. Tom Wolf, who signed Senate Bill 416 which puts into law physician oversight of anesthesia care and ensures patient safety remains a top priority.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced Heron Therapeutics, a commercial-stage biotechnology company, as an ASA Industry Supporter for the third year, supporting the work of the Society and physician anesthesiologists to reduce reliance on opioids during or following surgical procedures and ensuring that non-opioid alternatives are available to patients.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) asked United States District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo on June 11 to see the “trade libel” suit filed by Pacira BioSciences two months ago for what it is: an egregious and unjustified public relations campaign that seeks to chill scientific research and debate about Pacira’s controversial drug EXPAREL (liposomal bupivacaine). In its case, Pacira disputes the conclusions of peer-reviewed articles and an editorial in the February 2021 issue of Anesthesiology that EXPAREL lacks a comparative benefit over standard bupivacaine, even though it costs 100 times as much.

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Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) requested the Biden administration include a series of recommendations in its regulations to implement the “No Surprises Act,” the new federal surprise medical bill law, that will be implemented on January 1, 2022. ASA’s recommendations aim to ensure that the law is implemented fairly and equitably without improper benefit to health insurance companies.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced Claude Brunson, M.D., FASA, executive director of the Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA), received the 2021 Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Excellence in Government award in recognition of his tireless leadership in protecting patient safety in Mississippi.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18) received the 2021 Excellence in Government award in recognition of her outstanding leadership in health care. ASA commends Rep. Eshoo’s resolute work on behalf of patients and physicians to ensure access to high-quality health care and for the knowledge and highly effective leadership she brings to Congress.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is pleased that Pacira Biosciences appeared before a federal magistrate judge on May 7, 2021, and withdrew its motion for a preliminary injunction to force Anesthesiology to retract two papers and an editorial concerning EXPAREL, published in the February 2021 issue.

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Medical title manipulation, a growing concern across health care and medical specialties, confuses patients and creates discord in the care setting, ultimately risking patient safety. Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) calls on the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to reject any requests to manipulate and misappropriate medical titles.

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Giving birth is stressful enough. Adding a pandemic to the mix has only increased anxiety among today’s moms-to-be.

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Benefits 'Much Greater Than Anticipated' in Initial Randomized Trial

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced a strategic change to its meetings services model by partnering with SmithBucklin, a firm with decades of innovation and excellence in designing and producing association events. ASA will partner with SmithBucklin to deliver its ANESTHESIOLOGY® and Practice Management™ meetings.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced the pharmaceutical company, Acacia Pharma, as a new ASA Industry Supporter supporting the work of the Society and physician anesthesiologists in promoting patient safety in perioperative medicine, the Perioperative Surgical Home and Perioperative Brain Health Initiative.

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The Arkansas Society of Anesthesiologists (ARSA) and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today applaud bill sponsor Sen. Cecile Bledsoe and the Arkansas Senate Public Health, Labor and Welfare Committee for helping to ensure the safety of patients prescribed opioids. Arkansas State Drug Director Kirk Lane and Jonathan Goree, M.D., a physician anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist, testified for the bill.

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ASA answers top-six questions patients may have about procedures

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today applauds the New Hampshire Supreme Court for upholding the New Hampshire Board of Medicine’s decision that health care professionals using the term “anesthesiologist” must be licensed physicians and meet all of the requirements to practice medicine in the state.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) hosted a virtual pain summit on February 20, 2021 with 14 medical specialty societies to discuss acute surgical pain principles that will serve as the basis for a multi-society acute pain resource. The first-of-its-kind event brought together a group of representing the major surgical stakeholders in acute pain management with the goal of reaching consensus on important principles regarding the treatment of perioperative pain. These principles will be developed into a guiding resource for clinicians and all members of the surgical care team in 2021.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is gratified by the overwhelming concern from Veterans, their families, the medical community and concerned citizens about a rule from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would remove physician supervision from anesthesia care in VA. More than 10,000 comments were submitted, including more than 3,000 from Veterans and their family members, in support of maintaining safe, high-quality physician anesthesiologist-delivered or physician-led anesthesia care for our nation’s Veterans, out of the 13,000 comments submitted overall.

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A new paper defines the key practical steps that can be taken before, during, and after surgery to reduce patients’ risk of developing delirium and related problems that have long-term implications for brain health. Due to their unique role in perioperative care, physician anesthesiologists are ideally suited to lead multidisciplinary teams to implement these recommendations devoted to ensuring safety for all patients.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is pleased that a number of ASA’s priorities were addressed in the most recent COVID-19 stimulus bill; some improvements to the final surprise medical bill provisions and partial relief from the previous draconian Medicare cuts scheduled for January 1, 2021.

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With the first round of COVID-19 vaccines being deployed to states across the country, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) advises that anesthesia professionals, and other frontline health care workers, be prioritized to receive early access to the COVID-19 vaccination given their high risk of exposure to the virus in operating rooms, labor and delivery suites, procedural areas, emergency rooms and critical care units.

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A new surgical patient demographic has emerged during COVID-19; patients who have recovered from the virus. To help hospitals, surgeons, anesthesiologists and proceduralists evaluate and schedule essential and elective surgeries for these patients, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) offer the following guidance as hospitals need to perform surgery even as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic.

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Medicare has finalized a regulation mandating drastic cuts to its payment rates for important health care services, threatening the practices of physician anesthesiologists who have been on the front lines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) opposes these detrimental payment reductions, and urges Congress to take immediate action to override the cuts and ensure physician anesthesiologists can continue to care for their patients while being fairly compensated for their work.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a request for information regarding waivers declared during the COVID-19 pandemic, including one that removed physician anesthesiologists from anesthesia care and replaced them with nurses. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) urges Americans to protect older patients and those with disabilities by posting a comment to the Federal Register asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rescind the temporary policy that lowers the standard of care and risks patients’ lives.

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In response to a recently released rule by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) wants Americans to protect Veterans by asking VA to uphold the national standard of anesthesia care that ensures health and safety.

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The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report on anesthesia services missed the mark, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). Instead of a full and comprehensive review of a longstanding problem of unusually low Medicare payment rates for anesthesia services, the GAO made no effort to analyze the crux of the problem, the Medicare anesthesia payment system, which in itself is flawed.

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Gov. Doug Ducey has ignored more than 1700 letters from the medical community and the public strongly urging he protect Arizona patients by making his decision to “opt-out” of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ physician supervision requirement temporary.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced it has been selected as a 2020 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Society has received the designation. The honor identifies companies that display a commitment to excellence in operations and employee enrichment that lead to increased productivity and financial performance.