Study Argues Nurse Anesthetists Don’t Need Supervision by Anesthesiologists

A study conducted earlier this month by two researchers at the non-profit Research Triangle Institute and funded by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists confirmed that “certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) who receive high-level training are able to provide the same level of services as anesthesiologists at potentially lower cost.” In 2008-2009 a CRNA’s average salary was $189,000 while an anesthesiologist’s was $344,000 on average. The researchers looked at inpatient mortality and complication rates from over 480,000 hospitalizations covered by Medicare between 1999-2005 and compared rates for surgeries where anesthesia was provided by anesthesiologists, CRNAs, or a team of both. The study found no evidence that patients were at an increased surgical risk when they were administered anesthesia by a CRNA unsupervised by an anesthesiologist. The researchers did acknowledge that anesthesiologists tend to work on more complicated cases than CRNAs, but they controlled for this discrepancy.

CRNAs are much less expensive than their physician counterparts

The reason this study is rocking the boat for many interested in Medicare is that Medicare will not reimburse for anesthesia unless a physician is supervising the surgery. States can opt-out of this requirement though – and as of 2005 14 states have. Because this study argues that such an expensive requirement on Medicare’s part might be unnecessary many are calling for Medicare to revoke the requirement entirely, potential introducing better cost-efficiency in the program’s providing of services.

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Tags: anesthesia during surgery, CRNA, does medicare pay for anesthesia, nurse anesthetists just as good as anesthesiologists, what are CRNAs