Several factors — from procedure migration to continued struggles with reimbursement rates – are shaping the business of anesthesia in 2025.
Adam Kuz, CRNA, is an executive board member at Dearborn, Mich.-based Specialty Medical Center, recently joined Becker’s to outline three major trends in the anesthesia space.
Editor’s note: This response has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What are some of the biggest trends you’re noticing in ASCs and anesthesia right now?
Adam Kuz, CRNA: The talk of the town right now is, first of all, the shift of outpatient cases and the rise in ASC volumes, in terms of higher efficiency models in these places versus the hospital settings. But at the same time, since this is the beginning of the curve on certain cases and certain codings, the billing still has to catch up. So some reimbursement isn’t the same as if you’re doing the case at the hospital. So that’s a double edged sword, if you will, until it catches up with the times.
Another hot topic is anesthesia provider shortage. That’s all over the place. Unfortunately, we tend to be the rate-limiting factor now, due to staffing shortages, or ratios or whatnot. One thing that did help us when I was on the board of directors for [the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists], was that we did get supervision removal, which is just another regulatory burden, that kept physician heavy ratios in Michigan. Now that we got that done, CRNAs can practice independently, so it’s just one less hurdle to address when looking at different staffing models for ASCs.
Another big trend that’s just beginning right now is looking at the shift of cardiology, and we’re doing that as well, and doing cardiac cases outside of the hospital as well. Which obviously is a huge initial upfront on your overhead investment with the equipment. But again, the trends are showing reimbursement is looking better and better for that specialty as well.
