The change, instituted by the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration, would allow nurse anesthetists, who have specialized training in anesthesia, to provide care without the involvement or supervision of a medical doctor. At the urging of several medical groups, President Bush wisely extended the effective date for the rule change until at least mid-May to allow Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to review the matter. While nurse anesthetists are perfectly capable of delivering anesthetics and monitoring the care of patients during and after surgery, studies have shown that patients fare better when the nurse anesthetists are directly supervised or working under the oversight of a physician, ideally an anesthesiologist. The rule change was enacted, according to HCFA, to reduce federal regulation and instead defer to state licensing laws and medical standards. But because those rules vary from state to state, a single federal standard for Medicare and Medicaid patients is the best way to uniformly ensure patient safety.
Nurse anesthetists provide a very important part of anesthesia care.
Indeed, there is value in having nurse anesthetists and physicians work together to ensure patient safety. Let's hope Thompson sees it that way, too.