You Can and Should Choose Your Anesthesiologist
by Neil S. Siskind, Esq.
I always hope that people take great are and diligence in selecting their doctors and their surgeons. I have written in the past of the importance of having the right surgeons whose background and experience you have reviewed and investigated. There is almost nothing more important. Often you get one shot at getting a medical procedure right. There are many bad doctors, incompetent doctors, and careless doctors out there. Of course, there are many good ones as well.
Equally as important as choosing your surgeon is choosing your anesthesiologist. Even those of us who take the utmost care in selecting a surgeon fail to take an equal or even a percentage of the time to select or learn about our anesthesiologist. Anesthesia is the cause of 1 in 250,000 deaths each year. Additionally, it can be the cause of nerve damage, brain damage cardiovascular injury or paralysis. While the percentages are highly in your favor, as with any major medical procedure, your life is in the hands of the doctor. If you don’t know what to look for in an anesthesiologist, then you see you have already submitted your life to someone else entirely. That idea alone should scare you into doing your own homework.
Can you fairly assume that if you are happy with your surgeon and his or her experience and judgment, that you can defer to his or her judgment on an anesthesiologist? Well yes and no. Generally, yes, if your surgeon is highly regarded, then it is likely he will have his own expectations and standards for any anesthesiologist he works with. On the other hand, your surgeon may be too busy to study the work history of everyone he works with even if he likes them. Moreover, the anesthesiologist he prefers may not always be available, such as when your particular surgery is scheduled or in a week or month that such anesthesiologist is on vacation. You can’t assume that whoever is in his or her place has also had a thorough review by your surgeon. You are just expecting too much. You have to do your own homework. At the very least, always ask your surgeon about the anesthesiologist he is using to hear his opinion.
There is a difference between an anesthesiologist and an anesthetist. An anesthesiologist is a doctor (MDA). An anesthetist is a nurse (CRNA) educated and certified in anesthesia. State law may determine what a CRNA is allowed to do and not do in the operating room. Prior to WWII, the delivery of anesthesia was primarily a nursing function. At such time there were 17 nurse anesthetists for every 1 anesthesiologist. The number of physicians in this specialty did not greatly expand until the 1960’s. Then it became legally established that when a nurse delivers anesthesia it is a nursing function. When a physician administers anesthesia, it is the practice of medicine. Generally a CRNA works under the supervision of an MDA. But this may not always be the case and you should confirm this with your surgeon and hospital.
In many cases you can choose you anesthesiologist. This option will likely be more available at larger hospitals in more highly populated areas- where more options for everything exist. You must make this choice known in advance so that schedules can be arranged and doctors can converse if needed. Also, be sure that your surgeon likes to work with your chosen anesthesiologist. At the end of the day, if you like and trust your surgeon, you probably should defer to his final judgment and preferences. But that does not mean you should be ignorant to the issues and the true background and experience of your anesthesiologist and not be part of the decision making process.
If the misuse or improper monitoring of anesthesia has lead to a severe or permanent injury of yourself or a loved-one, contact The Siskind Law Firm today.
