In October 2010, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) issued Standards for Basic Anesthetic Monitoring.
Over one-third of healthcare providers believe there is a lack of complete compliance with the standards. That's according to a survey conducted by the Physician Alliance for Health and Safety.
ASA Standards
The ASA standards became effective July 1, 2011. The new standards expanded upon the previous monitoring standard to include regional and local anesthesia with no sedation and moderate or deep sedation. The standard reads:
"During regional anesthesia (with no sedation) or local anesthesia (with no sedation), the adequacy of ventilation shall be evaluated by continual observation of qualitative clinical signs. During moderate or deep sedation, the adequacy of ventilation shall be evaluated by continual observation of qualitative clinical signs and monitoring for the presence of exhaled carbon dioxide unless precluded or invalidated by the nature of the patient, procedure or equipment."
Hugh Morgan, Somnia Anesthesia’s director of quality assurance, says: “Somnia fully endorses the latest ASA monitoring guidelines including End Tidal co2 monitoring when medically appropriate. These guidelines have long since demonstrated their intrinsic efficacy in achieving the safest and highest quality patient outcomes.”
Survey Results
The survey asked respondents to rate the level that medical practices comply with ASA Standards. Results showed 66.2 percent rated medical practices as "completely" in compliance, while 33.8 percent answered "mostly" or "partially."
A copy of the complete survey, including recommendations and analysis is available at Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety home page.
Somnia Anesthesia
Blog Editor