Here are five recent anesthesia studies Becker’s has reported on in the last 60 days:
1. Many CRNAs support updating discharge policies to allow patients post-anesthesia to leave with rideshare services if accompanied by an adult. A survey found that 43% of CRNAs already work in settings that permit rideshare discharge with an escort. The report also highlighted that transportation vouchers improved care consistency and patient arrival times. Current guidance from the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology allows release to a “responsible individual,” which can include minors under 18 if deemed capable of managing discharge instructions.
2. In a July 7 article posted by The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, researchers outlined the impact of a recent anesthesia “rollup” acquisition on healthcare prices. The researchers initially analyzed the impact of U.S. Anesthesia Partner’s acquisition of anesthesia practices across Texas. The acquisition was the subject of a 2023 lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission against USAP and its parent company, Welsh Carson. The lawsuit, which was settled in May, alleged that the companies executed a roll-up scheme and drove up the prices of services to boost profits.
According to the researchers, the USAP rollup drove up local patient costs by roughly 30%. They identified similar rollups across the U.S., and asserted that unwinding these acquisitions would save patients hundreds of millions of dollars.
3. Researchers at the University of California are studying new potential anesthetics that do not require the same level of expertise as drugs used in the operating room today. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding a team of researchers at UCSF School of Pharmacy and UC San Diego to find a safer, more cost effective anesthetic. Brian Shoichet, PhD, and Jason Sello, PhD, are leading a project that utilizes AI, molecule design and animal models to evaluate 6 million small molecules for anesthetic properties.
4. A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia found that tailored feedback to surgeons dramatically reduces excessive opioid prescriptions for common surgeries. Aligning prescribing practices with evidence-based guidelines can address overprescribing and its side effects, such as opioid dependence and diversion of unused pills. The study leveraged behavioral science and patient-reported data to help surgeons compare their prescribing practices with those of colleagues treating similar procedures in the same health system.
5. The greater familiarity between a surgeon and an anesthesiologist was linked to improved outcomes for patients in certain surgeries, according to a retrospective study conducted by physicians of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. Surgeon-anesthesiologist pairs who are familiar with each other “develop shared mental models, trust, and more efficient communication, allowing them to anticipate each other’s needs, manage crises more effectively, and minimize errors,” Julie Hallet, MD, one of the researchers on the study, told Medpage. The study found that in multiple high-volume surgical divisions, access to this data led to a substantial increase in guideline adherence and a reduction in overprescribing. Before accessing the data, 60% of prescriptions in the control group exceeded recommendations. These improvements were sustained even after the feedback stopped, and patients’ pain scores remained unchanged.
