The debate over whether CRNAs should be allowed to administer anesthesia without physician supervision has continued throughout the country on the heels of Colorado becoming the 16th state to opt out of the federal Medicare rule.
In a letter to The Aspen Times in Colorado, Paul Rein, DO, president of the Virginia Anesthesia and Peroperative Care Specialists, expressed his concern over Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's decision to opt the state out of the rule.
In an online commentary piece by Kenneth Elmassian, DO, president of the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists, in the Detroit Free Press, Dr. Elmassian challenged a commentary piece in the Baltimore Sun written by Catherine Gilliss, president of the American Academy of Nursing and dean of the Duke University School of Nursing, who lobbied for more states to out of the CRNA physician supervision requirement. Dr. Elmassian said, "Such thinking threatens the safety of patients, diminishes the rigors of a medical education, and negates the value of physician leadership in the delivery of health care," in his commentary.
In an op-ed article published in North Carolina's News & Observer, Alan Koontz, MD, president, and Gerald Maccioli, MD, director, of the N.C. Society of Anesthesiologists defended the state requirement that physicians supervise nurse anesthetists when providing anesthesia.