Anesthesia providers play a unique role in healthcare delivery, as their practice intersects with other specialties across the care spectrum, from high pressure operations to more routine surgical procedures.
Their positionality and leadership in the operating room can provide them with a more comprehensive understanding of inefficiencies and gaps in perioperative care—part of why they have long-advocated for an increased presence in leadership roles, especially at ASCs.
“Anesthesiologists are in the OR and perioperative space all the time so we see and manage interactions between specialties, pre- and postop care, pain management, nurses, surgical technologists, laboratory, interventional radiology, gastroenterology, etc.,” Christina Menor, MD, president of the California Society of Anesthesiologists, told Becker’s. “We could improve throughput and efficiency, and significantly decrease same-day cancellation rates, especially by participating more fully in pre-op assessments.”
Megan Friedman, DO, chair and medical director at Los Angeles-based Pacific Coast Anesthesia Consultants, told Becker’s that cutting anesthesiologists out of decision-making processes at ASCs can result in unintended, but often foreseeable consequences.
“For example, one site implemented a scheduling software, and a vendor suggested staffing anesthesia solely based on what was blocked and booked—even though no one knew how to use the system yet,” she said. “It showed far fewer anesthesiologists were needed, and leadership thought staffing could be cut. That’s why anesthesia leadership needs to be at the table presenting comprehensive data. People who aren’t involved day to day may look at one small snapshot that doesn’t reflect reality.”
There are some signs that ASC and health system leadership is aligning with these views. In December, Becker’s reported on five anesthesiologists being appointed as chief medical officers. In the first few weeks of 2026 alone, at least five more anesthesia leaders have been appointed to other leadership roles.
Outside of efficiency, anesthesiologists may also be the most well-positioned to interpret and communicate data across departments, which can lead to better outcomes for patients and physicians.
“Anesthesia data comes from multiple systems — OR, cath lab, GI, bronchoscopy — and anesthesia leadership is the only group that can pull it together holistically,” Dr. Friedman said. “Without that, decisions lead to inappropriate coverage, unhappy surgeons, unhappy anesthesia providers, and attrition. Anesthesia needs to be involved from the start.”
