LETTERS: ANESTHESIA TEAMWORK IS BEST

To the editor:

Thanks to the nurse anesthetists who expressed thoughts following my March 21 letter concerning the Health Care Financing Administration's proposed rule change. This proposal would allow nurse anesthetists to practice without physician supervision. I should have emphasized that nurses, including nurse anesthetists, make tremendous contributions during surgery as members of the health-care team. Some of my best friends and colleagues are nurses, and our nurse anesthetists are talented, caring and extremely competent. We physicians do not say it often enough, but we value and appreciate the help of nurses.

My view, quite simply, is that we should continue to work as a team to strive for the highest quality patient care. Over the past 10 to 20 years, under physician supervision, incidences of harmful events attributable to anesthesia have decreased 2,500 percent. To address one concern mentioned, we probably should give patients more credit than to worry about their being needlessly frightened. Patients are intelligent and have the right to be informed so they can make health-care and public-policy decisions. In Cape Girardeau, they even have the right to request their anesthetic be performed by a nurse anesthetists or a physician anesthesiologist. Four out of five senior citizens surveyed want a physician to participate in their anesthesia care.

The real issue is of quality care performed by or supervised by a physician specialist, not money flow. The financial facts are as follows:

1. Medicare and Medicaid pay a small percentage of usual fees. There is no compelling economic motive for opposing the HCFA rule change.

2. HCFA would pay the same for anesthesia whether performed by an anesthesiologist, a nurse anesthetist or a team of both.

Let us stand together and work for what is right and best: the highest quality patient care possible.

DR. STEPHEN W. STIGERS

Cape Girardeau