One of the biggest challenges for anesthesia groups navigating the COVID-19 outbreak is right-sizing staff as elective procedures are canceled, according to Anesthesia Business Consultants President and CEO Tony Mira.
Anesthesia
Anesthesiologist Floyd Smith, MD, agreed to pay $70,000 to resolve allegations that he prescribed drugs in violation of state law and outside professional standards, the Department of Justice announced March 30.
Illinois healthcare organizations developed opioid prescribing guidelines that apply to ASCs, emergency departments, specialists and primary care providers in Winnebago County, according to local television outlet WREX.
A former anesthesiologist accused of choking a nurse at Lone Tree, Colo.-based Sky Ridge Medical Center pleaded guilty March 9 to felony and misdemeanor charges, CBSN Denver reports.
Dental anesthesia can generate additional revenue for some anesthesia groups, but for most practices, it isn't a lucrative opportunity, according to Anesthesia Business Consultants President and CEO Tony Mira.
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Anesthesiologist Neil Ross, MD, was reprimanded by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners for allegedly conducting improper examinations when treating family and friends, Patch reports.
Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health tapped Joseph Dempsey, MD, to serve as chairman of its newly formed systemwide anesthesia service line, according to WKDZ, a local radio station.
The primary transesophageal echocardiography services an anesthesiologist might document are probe placement, interpretation, placement and interpretation, and intraoperative monitoring, according to Anesthesia Business Consultants President and CEO Tony Mira.
UnitedHealthcare dropped more than 80 anesthesiologists from its network as of March 1, affecting at least five surgery centers and one pain and spine practice in North Carolina, The News & Observer reports.
More than 40 percent of anesthesiologists have had their payer contracts terminated in the last six months, according to an informal national survey from the American Society of Anesthesiologists.