The New York Times opinion section published an editorial addressing a recent study by Research Triangle Institute International, funded by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and published in Health Affairs, claiming CRNAs who provide anesthesia services without physician supervision do not endanger patients.
The editorial said the risk of death from anesthesia is "miniscule" whether anesthesia services are provided by an anesthesiologist or a CRNA. Around one death occurs in every 200,000 to 300,000 cases in which anesthetics are administered, according to the editorial.
The editorial also points out the difference in cost between CRNAs and anesthesiologists. It costs more than six times as much to train an anesthesiologist than a CRNA and anesthesiologists earn on average twice as much, according to the editorial.
Read the New York Times editorial on CRNA anesthesia services.
Read a response from The Wall Street Journal on the CRNA study.
Read another response from Alexander A. Hannenberg, MD, president of American Society of Anesthesiologist, on the CRNA study.
The editorial said the risk of death from anesthesia is "miniscule" whether anesthesia services are provided by an anesthesiologist or a CRNA. Around one death occurs in every 200,000 to 300,000 cases in which anesthetics are administered, according to the editorial.
The editorial also points out the difference in cost between CRNAs and anesthesiologists. It costs more than six times as much to train an anesthesiologist than a CRNA and anesthesiologists earn on average twice as much, according to the editorial.
Read the New York Times editorial on CRNA anesthesia services.
Read a response from The Wall Street Journal on the CRNA study.
Read another response from Alexander A. Hannenberg, MD, president of American Society of Anesthesiologist, on the CRNA study.