Anesthesia practices

Arkansans, SB184 passed through the state Senate last Thursday and will now be going before the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee this Thursday.

SB184 simply removes the language “supervision” and changes it to “in coordination with” regarding anesthesia administered by certified registered nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs. Nowhere in this country are CRNAs required to work with anesthesiologists. In the past 150 years that nurse anesthetists have been administering anesthesia, the rule for anesthesiologists to specifically “supervise” was only in place for a few years in the 1980s-early ’90s. The specialty of anesthesia began with nurses. Nurse anesthetists taught physicians how to administer anesthesia, and eventually, medical physicians began their own anesthesia programs. So this isn’t anesthesia-provider turf war.

For years, literature has shown CRNAs and anesthesiologists are equally safe providers, and that there is no harm when CRNAs administer anesthesia without anyone “supervising.” CRNAs provide approximately 75 percent of the anesthetics in Arkansas, and over 90 percent of the anesthetics (in both urban and rural areas) in this country.

SB184 will simply remove liability from health-care professionals (like non-anesthesia physicians, dentists, podiatrists, and anyone else “authorized to order anesthesia”) who are not anesthesia experts from being in charge of or “supervising” an anesthetic. How could a non-anesthesia clinician instruct me, a highly qualified and doctoral prepared anesthesia expert, how to perform an anesthetic? They couldn’t. They therefore shouldn’t be liable. With this being said, individual facilities are able to choose what type of anesthesia model they want to use. SB184 will not mandate practices to change, but will afford the option to make changes should a facility choose to.

Thank you for allowing us to take care of you, Arkansas! Please contact your local representatives to vote yes on SB184. ANNE P. COUSINS Little Rock