Delivering anesthesia in areas remote to the O.R. results in some of the most unique and problematic issues of our specialty. Typically, routine anesthetic equipment is not stored in these locations and must be brought from central O.R. areas. Medical gases, scavenging, evacuation and electricity may not exist in convenient areas of the facility (or at all). Not only is equipment transported, but patients must also be transported, often from critical locations. And the support systems we most rely on, colleagues and technicians, are usually far away and need time to respond even in emergent situations.
Members of the Committee on Equipment and Facilities and their colleagues have described on the following pages some of the most interesting and difficult situations that occur during the process of delivering non-O.R. anesthesia (NORA). Topics include building productive working teams with our non-anesthesiology colleagues who are involved in performing the procedures and typically...
