Last updated January 26, 2025
As the landscape of healthcare delivery rapidly evolves, anesthesia practices nationwide are challenged to keep pace with service requirements. Hospital CEOs are tasked with expanding surgical services and increasing volume, yet they often face frustration when anesthesia teams are unable to provide coverage for new cases outside of established schedules. This lack of available anesthesia support can stall new procedures, ultimately hindering growth and progress. In light of these challenges, CEOs are left questioning how to enhance engagement with their anesthesia groups and ensure they fully contribute to the surgical team’s success.
What constitutes a great anesthesia group?
Hospitals with an established anesthesia group that have great clinical outcomes might lack collaboration with administration, surgeons and perioperative nurses. If that happens to be the case or at least the “feeling”, how should it be handled? The typical reaction is to decide to work around the problem and just send out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to other anesthesia groups. Going straight to an RFP might not be the best business decision.
Great anesthesia groups that will provide the best delivery of care can confidently answer “yes” to the following questions:
- Are the anesthesiologists allowed to function in a medical director role within the OR?
- Does the group take ownership for pre-admission testing?
- Is there a sense of just culture within the surgical suite?
- Are perioperative services meeting best practice standards?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions it might be time to speak to the anesthesia providers and ask why they are not operating at a high level. Anesthesia should be working with the OR Director, surgeons and administration for the same mission and goals of the hospital or health system. If you are not getting the answers you need or find that the issue may be a void in leadership, it’s time to work with your anesthesia practice on various strategies to reach the same goal. One of the first steps to explore could be anesthesia leadership.
Before sending out an RFP for an anesthesia practice, a hospital CEO should consider certain challenges. For example, the reaction to such an RFP is often quite negative within the organization because it is a major change to the surgeons, nurses, and in many respects, the patients. It takes a great deal of time and energy to negotiate a contract to replace a dedicated anesthesia group. Leadership from the outside can help foster a positive relationship amongst peers, upgrade clinical quality if needed and help learn to take ownership for processes such as pre-admission testing, pain clinic, first case on time starts and turnover time. Given a governance committee is in place, together the culture of the group as well as perioperative services can become more positive and financially successful. Collaboration will begin to become natural and foster a positive impact on the performance of the operating room.
Interim anesthesia leadership can change the existing culture of a hospital or health system through positive reinforcement of clinical, operational and financial directives; while providing personal and professional growth opportunities for the providers. An interim leader can cultivate and mentor other anesthesia colleagues to a higher standard of partnership and care and change the course of an anesthesia group to meet the mission of the hospital or health system.
An interim anesthesia medical director can change the culture within the group and the operating room. Culture plays a role in optimizing the patient experience, surgeon satisfaction and nursing retention. An outside voice for an established time frame allows for voices to be heard, conversations to be crucial in nature yet change the course of action in a positive way that allows the group to be successful, individuals to prosper and perioperative services to build consensus on the delivery of care.
If you have a need to bridge the gap between your hospital and anesthesia group or a need for an interim anesthesia medical director, contact us to discuss options.
