California Court Allows Unsupervised Nurse Anesthetists to Administer Anesthesia

The California Supreme Court has refused to bar nurse anesthetists from administering anesthesia to hospital patients without physician supervision, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report.

The order will have the most significant impact in rural areas, where nurses often administer anesthesia in hospitals under a physician's orders but without in-person supervision, the report said.

Federal law denies Medicare reimbursement to hospitals that allow nurses to administer anesthesia without supervision, but a state governor may opt out of the requirement after consulting with the state medical board. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized nurse anesthetists to administer anesthesia independently in June 2009. The decision was upheld in June 2010 by a San Francisco judge and was affirmed this March by the First District Court of Appeal.

The American Medical Association and the California Society of Anesthesiologists have opposed the measure, arguing that nurse anesthetists do not have the proper medical training to safely administer anesthesia to patients in complex cases such as cardiac surgery.

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