February 1999
Volume 63 |
Number 2
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| AMA Declares:
'Anesthesiology Is the Practice of Medicine' |
At its recent meeting in Hawaii, the
American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates adopted
the following resolution, which was proposed by the American Society
of Anesthesiologists.
Whereas, the House of Delegates of the American Society of Anesthesiologists
has maintained that the practice of anesthesiology is the practice
of medicine and is not an institutional "service"; and
Whereas, the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association
has recently acted upon a number of resolutions concerned with
attempts by allied health care professionals to increase their
respective scopes of practice; and
Whereas, such attempts, frequently including those by nurse
anesthetists, have often involved use of the legislative or regulatory
process as a substitute for the obtaining of the necessary education
and training; and
Whereas, nurse anesthetists receive two to three years of education
and training in anesthesia techniques, in contrast to the four
years of medical school and four years of specialized residency
training received by an anesthesiologist; and
Whereas, the provision of anesthesia care involves a wide variety
of diagnostics and clinical medical judgments and decisions during
the pre-, peri-, and postoperative periods; and
Whereas, anesthesia patient safety has increased markedly over
the past three decades, due primarily to the increased incidence
of physician participation in that care, either through personal
provision of that care or through medical direction of nurse anesthetists;
and
Whereas, anesthesiology is one of the medical specialties recognized
by the American Board of Medical Specialties; and
Whereas, the federal government and numerous state legislatures
and regulatory bodies have been called upon in recent years to
consider the scope of practice of anesthesia providers; therefore
be it
"RESOLVED, That anesthesiology is the practice of medicine.
RESOLVED, That the American Medical Association seek legislation
to establish the principle in federal and state law and regulation
that anesthesia care requires the personal performance or supervision
by an appropriately licensed and credentialed doctor of medicine,
osteopathy or dentistry."
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