Immediately following the Washington, D.C. news conference on February 5, Drs. Owens, Fitch and Pyles visited several key legislators on Capitol Hill in visits that were previously arranged by the Washington Office. U.S. Senators were presented with results of the senior citizen survey and materials that outlined the patient safety concerns of the HCFA proposal. The practice of anesthesiology is the practice of medicine, not the practice of nursing. There are reasons why specialized physicians receive such extensive training, and those reasons are patient safety and quality of care.
Decisions made during surgery, quite literally, can mean the difference between life and death.
It's impossible to exaggerate the importance of having skilled physician oversight at this critical time. This change that HCFA is proposing is not an issue of cost. We urge HCFA to reconsider this proposal that is based neither on cost-savings nor sound medical judgment. All rights reserved.