U.S. Anesthesia Partners reached an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Dec. 3 to allow the group's physicians to remain in network.

Sabrina Thalblum, RN, allegedly stole fentanyl from Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's outpatient surgery center from August 2018 to August 2019, The Gazette reported Dec. 3.

To combat the U.S. opioid crisis, anesthesiologists should lead efforts to provide opioid-free anesthesia, according to a Nov. 23 blog post from Anesthesia Business Consultants.

Pending uncertainty around Medicare reimbursement rates and the effects of the second COVID-19 wave have left the anesthesia community anxious, but hope remains, Anesthesia Business Consultants wrote in a Nov. 23 blog post.

A high-profile medical malpractice lawsuit against an anesthesiologist, Hackensack (N.J.) Anesthesiology Associates and the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack was settled for $5.5 million, TAP into Westfield reported on Nov. 11.

New Jersey-based anesthesia and pain management specialist Morris Antebi, MD, was charged for his alleged role in a $24.6 million fraudulent billing scheme, the Department of Justice announced Nov. 9.

Oklahoma City anesthesiologist Ervin Yen, MD, plans to run for governor of Oklahoma in 2022, according to local ABC outlet KOCO News 5.

As of March, California had more professionally active anesthesiologists than any other state and Washington, D.C., according to Kaiser Family Foundation data.

  An Oct. 26 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found a vast difference between private and Medicare payments for anesthesia services.

Anesthesiologist Pramila Byahatti, MD, lost her medical license after she allegedly overprescribed opioids without a medical basis, the STL News reports.

On average, private insurers paid more than 3.5 times what Medicare paid for anesthesia services in 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded in a 23-page report published Oct. 26.

  A certified registered nurse anesthetist at Aiken (S.C.) Regional Medical Centers was awarded $1,000 for a research project, according to an Oct. 26 report from the Aiken Standard.

  Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Endonovo Therapeutics announced a new awareness campaign for its FDA-cleared pain relief solution for patients post-surgery, according to an Oct. 8 press release.

St. Louis (Mo.) County Executive Sam Page, MD, could be violating a county charter by continuing to practice as an anesthesiologist at St. Louis-based Mercy Hospital, according to local outlets ABC KMOV4 and NBC 5 On Your Side.

Pacira BioSciences opened the Pacira Innovation and Training Center of Tampa (Fla.) to train physicians on non-opioid pain management options, the company announced Oct. 21.

As of September, there was no physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists in ambulatory surgical facilities across 31 states and Washington, D.C., according to information provided to Becker's ASC Review by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

Houston anesthesiologist Rezik Saqer, MD, received a seven-year prison sentence Oct. 9 for his role in a $5 million healthcare fraud scheme tied to "multiple patient deaths," according to the Department of Justice.

Beverly Philip, MD, was installed as president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Failing to have an active management relationship with an anesthesia provider can cost ASCs money  and contribute to patient dissatisfaction. 

Black children are more than twice as likely as white children to die after surgical complications requiring further operation, according to research presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists' 2020 annual meeting.