Office-Based Anesthesia: Preparing for Tomorrow

Over the past decade there has been a significant growth in office-based procedures.¹  Concurrently, office-based anesthesia (OBA) practice has grown rapidly. Economic forces are the primary factors driving office-based surgery (OBS) and OBA practices. The benefits of OBS/OBA practices are well described and include patient convenience, comfort and cost efficiency. The procedures performed in offices burden the healthcare system less because offices do not receive facility fees, although the physician fees are slightly enhanced. Thus, it is not surprising that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has gradually increased the number of office-based procedures that would be covered for its beneficiaries, as well as liberalized the procedure and recovery period time constraints. Third-party payers have accepted the definitions and regulations of CMS. Thus, there has been a significant enhancement of procedures that are covered in the office setting. However, a current sampling of administrative and clinical listserves...