The changes in anesthesiologist reimbursement and pay have surgery center leaders rethinking their anesthesia models.
"Anesthesia has been a hot topic of discussion the last two to three years and I don't see that getting better any time soon," said Andrew Lovewell, CEO of Columbia (Mo.) Orthopaedic Group. "We have moved to a fully integrated model in our practice where the anesthesia staff are employed through our group practice. This created stability with insurance benefits, better contracts and a more marketable pay range."
Mr. Lovewell said the model has worked well with current staff and he is looking to grow the practice's anesthesia service line.
But growth isn't easy, as anesthesia expenses have increased significantly for surgery centers in the last few years. John Brady, CEO of Fox Valley Orthopedics in Geneva, Ill., said his practice leadership is considering alternative anesthesia service delivery models, including CRNA-only models.
"Ensuring clinical quality and patient safety should be the priorities, but as more ASCs shift to this type of model, they should be able to better control overall costs and avoid or minimize costly management stipends charged by anesthesia groups," said Mr. Brady.
Erin Vitale, RN, director of nursing at Hoffman Estates (Ill.) Surgery Center is also closely following anesthesia shortage trends in her market, in addition to rising volume of cataract cases.
"A way to deal with both trends is switching our cataract cases over from monitored anesthesia care to local anesthesia," she told Becker's. "This way, we can increase our cataract volume while also freeing up our anesthesia for our growing volume of general and orthopedic programs at our center."