In 2025, ASCs are experimenting with new strategies that lean on technology, collaboration and workforce flexibility to stabilize coverage amid ongoing shortages.
1. AI-driven predictive staffing and operating room coordination. ASCs are beginning to use predictive analytics to anticipate anesthesia staffing needs before shortages occur. These platforms pull data on surgical case volume, case complexity and provider availability to align coverage with demand. Instead of relying on manual scheduling, leaders can proactively plan recruitment, avoid costly cancellations and minimize burnout.
“AI models can also anticipate retirement patterns, burnout risks, and regional gaps in coverage, enabling more proactive recruitment and resource deployment,” Allyn Miller, CRNA, regional director of Franklin, Tenn.- based Anesthesia Operations at Community Health Systems, told Becker’s. “These insights can guide policy and operational decisions at the facility, system, and national levels.”
2. Integrated AI to optimize workflow. Beyond staffing, AI is transforming anesthesia workflow inside the OR. Ambient documentation tools are allowing anesthesiologists to spend less time charting and more time on patient care.
Some systems, such as Houston Methodist, report a 15% gain in OR availability after deploying AI-powered workflow tools, which reduced idle time and streamlined processes without adding headcount.
3. Centralized scheduling and staffing models. Some ASCs are improving anesthesia coverage by consolidating scheduling and staffing into a single pool of providers across their networks.
This approach reduces idle time, improves first-case, on-time starts and lowers reliance on costly locums. By managing anesthesia providers as a shared resource, centers gain flexibility without overextending their teams.
“By consolidating scheduling across all of our facilities, we created a single pool of providers that we can deploy flexibly based on case volume and acuity,” Joe Martin, CEO of Fresno, Calif.-based Valley Regional Anesthesia Associates told Becker’s.
4. Collaborative efficiency models. ASCs are improving anesthesia coverage not by adding staff, but by engaging anesthesia leaders directly in operational decisions around throughput, block times and case-mix. This collaborative approach has reduced downtime and improved coverage stability.
“The most impactful improvement came from meaningful collaboration with our anesthesia group to sit down and discuss how we can trust their guidance on efficiency strategies,” Tracy Helmer, BSN, administrator of Mesa, Ariz.-based Tri City Cardiology Surgical Center, told Becker’s.
5. Flexible employment tracks to attract and retain staff. Compensation structure is emerging as a key factor in anesthesia staffing and retention. Some CRNAs prefer the autonomy and higher pay of 1099 work, while others value the stability of traditional, W-2 employment. Offering both options could help organizations broaden their recruitment pool and reduce turnover.
“I think if anesthesia practices offered both 1099 and W-2 models, they could keep employees while also reducing turnover,” Andrew Hicks, CRNA. Advanced Practice Providers for Cardiothoracic Division of the Ohio State University College of Medicine (Columbus), told Becker’s. “There are CRNAs that want the higher pay of a 1099, but there are also CRNAs that want the security of a W-2. If groups could offer both, I think turnover would be less.”
