Anesthesia groups are facing mounting pressure to demonstrate measurable value as reimbursement declines, staffing shortages intensify and hospitals reevaluate contract structures. Once viewed primarily as clinical support services, anesthesia practices are reshaping their models to show direct contributions to quality, efficiency and cost containment.
Here are five key ways anesthesia groups are redefining value in today’s healthcare landscape:
1. Stabilizing anesthesia programs through care team models: Hospitals and health systems are contending with a nationwide anesthesiologist shortage that is projected to exceed 8,000 physicians by 2037. As demand for anesthesia services grows and recruitment challenges persist, many organizations are turning to collaborative care team models to sustain access and program stability.
These models combine anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologist assistants and trainees, emphasizing partnership and shared responsibility. Effective implementation depends on cultural alignment and clear communication.
Gradual integration, education and administrative support have helped organizations introduce new team structures while maintaining safety and operational continuity.
2. Building a perioperative surgical home: Anesthesia groups are expanding their focus beyond intraoperative care to support patients through the full recovery period. Facing declining reimbursement and rising expectations, practices are developing perioperative surgical home models designed to deliver consistent pain management and long-term recovery support.
“That means you really have to be adding value in places beyond the operating room,” Vijay Sudheendra, MD, president of Providence, R.I.-based Narragansett Bay Anesthesia, told Becker’s.
His group is emphasizing transitional pain services and innovative approaches like cryoanalgesia to reduce opioid use and accelerate rehabilitation. By leading postoperative care initiatives and investing in physician leadership, anesthesia practices are redefining their value as partners in patient outcomes rather than procedural services.
3. Optimizing anesthesia revenue through data and integration: Anesthesia billing is complex, relying on time-based unit coding and specialty-specific ASA guidelines. To reduce revenue leakage, groups are investing in systems that align clinical documentation, concurrency tracking and payer rules.
“Different payers use different methodologies,” Lynn Van Houten, senior vice president of revenue cycle management at Raleigh, N.C.-based North American Partners in Anesthesia, told Becker’s. “Some use 10-minute increments, others use 15 or even 12. Rounding rules also vary between payers, which is why it’s critical that the RCM system is configured to calculate billable units precisely.”
Integrating revenue cycle, clinical and contracting functions can help anesthesia practices capture full reimbursement and strengthen financial performance.
4. Aligning with value-based care initiatives: Anesthesia groups are adapting to a healthcare environment increasingly defined by value-based payment models. These arrangements — ranging from bundled payments to enhanced recovery after surgery programs — tie reimbursement to outcomes, efficiency and patient satisfaction rather than volume alone.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists supports these models and continues to advocate for anesthesiologists’ inclusion in initiatives such as CMS’ transforming episode accountability model.
Within these frameworks, anesthesia practices are expanding their role across perioperative and postoperative care, managing risk, improving recovery and advancing opioid-sparing techniques to help hospitals meet quality and cost benchmarks.
5. Restructuring contracts to reflect performance: Hospitals and anesthesia groups are renegotiating contracts to align compensation with performance, efficiency and shared outcomes. Declining reimbursements and rising costs are pushing both sides toward joint-venture, risk-share and stipend-based models that balance financial sustainability with operational accountability.
Partnerships are shifting away from transactional coverage agreements to strategic collaborations that reward throughput, quality and reliability. Data transparency and co-management arrangements are increasingly used to stabilize income and demonstrate measurable value in a tightening reimbursement environment.
