ASA Urges Administration to Take Steps to Ensure Continued Patient Care, Provider Safety During COVID-19

As the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) continues to collaborate with the Administration, Congress and other officials on ways physician anesthesiologists can help treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, ASA President Mary Dale Peterson, M.D., MSHCA, FACHE, FASA, sent a communication to the White House commending the Administration for its work to date and formalizing key ASA recommendations to address top health concerns.  In the communication, Dr. Peterson urges the Administration to continue to prioritize actions to expand access to personal protective equipment (PPE), to provide robust economic relief to physician anesthesiologists’ practices and to increase access to ventilators which include anesthesia gas machine ventilators, while considering expanding access to critical care providers.

“As patient safety experts who are trained in critical care medicine, physician anesthesiologists have a unique and important role to play in efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are proud to share this expertise with our nation’s leaders for an effective response,” said Dr. Peterson. “I am determined to continue working hand-in-hand with leaders who are searching for ways to keep health care providers safe, increase access to care, and reduce the financial strain on physician practices and hospitals.” 

Earlier this month, Dr. Peterson participated in a conference call with physician organizations and top White House officials on how ASA can work to assure the safety and well-being of our front-line physician anesthesiologists and ensure Americans maintain access to the highest-quality anesthesia and critical care services.  As a result of these conversations, the Administration and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance on adapting anesthesia machines as ventilators for use on COVID-19 patients.

Read the letter here.

About American Society of Anesthesiologists

Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 54,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves. For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount. Like ASA on Facebook, follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

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