 hether
anesthesiologists are discussing the latest medical
advances or clearing up misconceptions about the specialty,
the combined efforts of those willing to appear on
television or be quoted in print have increased the
visibility of the “doctor behind the mask.”
This added exposure has led to heavy media coverage
before, during and after the 2004 Annual Meeting held
last October in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Anesthesiologists who participated in former president
William J. Clinton’s coronary bypass surgery
were interviewed on television and quoted in newspapers
across the country. In the midst of the media flurry,
Robert E. Kelly, M.D., senior vice-president and chief
operating officer at New York Presbyterian Hospital,
made appearances on CNN’s Larry King Live
and NBC’s Today to discuss the success
of the surgery. Mr. Clinton’s recent procedure
was a wake-up call to many Americans to watch what
they eat and to follow the advice of their physicians.
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Bringing Anesthesiology to the Masses
It was another successful
year for media coverage at the 2004 Annual Meeting.
Pictured, from left to right, are Media Award
participant Hector Vila, Jr., M.D.; 2004 Committee
on Communications Chair R. Lawrence Sullivan,
Jr., M.D.; ASA Director of Communications Gina
A. Steiner; ASA Media Award winners Donna Gehrke-White,
John Fulton and Robin Guess; Doris K. Cope,
M.D., who was the subject of a Media Award-winning
article by Mary Ann VanDevelde (not pictured);
and ASA Public Relations Assistant Roseanne
Durril. |
The Sentinel Event Alert on intraoperative awareness
that was released by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in October 2004
created an opportunity for anesthesiologists to educate
the lay public and the hospital community on intraoperative
awareness. 2004 ASA President Roger W. Litwiller,
M.D., reached a number of medical writers when he
participated in a telephone press conference sponsored
by JCAHO. In this forum, he outlined what ASA has
done in the past regarding awareness as well as talk
about current and future efforts of the Society. Dr.
Litwiller asked that reporters keep the issue in perspective
and cautioned against sensationalism. An excerpt from
this press conference can be found on the “Members
Only” section of the ASA Web site. There also
is a memorandum to help ASA members discuss the JCAHO
Sentinel Event Alert with their hospitals, as well
as a model policy that hospitals can use to craft
their own documents. After the Annual Meeting, the
JCAHO alert continued to gain media attention by way
of two articles in the Washington Post and
a feature in Newsday. Letters to the editor
from 2005 President Eugene P. Sinclair, M.D., along
with John F. Dombrowski, M.D., an anesthesiologist
in private practice, and Hector F. Nicodemus, M.D.,
were printed by the Washington Post. A letter
from Dr. Sinclair also was published in Newsday
and the Chicago Sun-Times, and Dr. Dombrowski
appeared on the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.,
to speak about awareness.
The release of the Annual Meeting press kit swung
media attention to new technology and in-depth research
presented in Las Vegas. Press releases covered a variety
of studies that reviewed oxycodone abuse, pharmacogenomics,
weapons of mass destruction training, the cost savings
associated with preoperative visits, blood management
techniques, allergy tests and a virtual stethoscope.
CBS Radio Network, which reaches more than 250 affiliates
nationwide, interviewed Robert A. Strickland, M.D.,
Professor of Anesthesiology at Wake Forrest University,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Akash Bajaj, M.D.,
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Harbor-University
of California at Los Angeles Medical Center; Patrick
Kochanek, M.D., Director of the Safar Center for Resuscitation
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Jonathan S. Jahr,
M.D., Professor and Interim Chair of the Department
of Anesthesiology at Charles R. Drew University of
Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.
Dr. Strickland’s research covered a historical
perspective on anesthesia-induced sexual hallucinations.
His interview aired on an hourly news program on the
east and west coasts and was picked up by several
other stations affiliated with the syndicated radio
network. Dr. Bajaj’s research on goggles for
movie watching under regional anesthesia found similar
success on the radio news feed as did a study by Dr.
Kochanek on caffeine’s effect on the brain.
Dr. Jahr’s study on how locksmiths have a higher
concentration of lead in their systems and the precautions
that should be taken is scheduled to run on one of
the aforementioned affiliate radio networks.
Drs. Strickland and Bajaj also were able to complete
other news interviews while in the ASA Press Room
in Las Vegas. Dr. Bajaj’s work was featured
in Modern Physician magazine, and Dr. Strickland’s
study was covered by the United Press International
(UPI) newswire service.
The story of a man with malignant hyperthermia (MH)
was chronicled by the local Las Vegas press. Michael
D. Detmer, M.D., of Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center,
was familiar with the signs of MH and able to treat
the condition before the patient’s life was
threatened. The Las Vegas Review-Journal
and KBLR-TV, the Telemundo affiliate, visited the
exhibit hall to take photographs and film the doctor
and former patient.
Members of the trade press continued to be strong
supporters of the research presented at the Annual
Meeting. Dr. Dombrowski was shadowed by a reporter
from Outpatient Surgery magazine as he toured
the exhibit floor. This exchange led to a feature
article in the magazine’s December 2004 issue.
Also during the Annual Meeting, Science published
an article on an abstract by Richard J. Melker, M.D.,
and researchers at the University of Florida-Gainesville,
which theorized that anesthesiologists are more inclined
to abuse drugs due to their environmental exposure
to anesthetic gases.
Topics in Pain Management, a Lippincott Williams
& Wilkins publication, plans to publish articles
on three scientific presentations. Upcoming is a study
by Asokumar Buvanendran, M.D., Assistant Professor
of Anesthesiology at Rush Medical College in Chicago,
on oxycodone abuse results gathered from a national
database called the Drug Abuse Warning Network, or
DAWN. Research on refecoxib (Vioxx) will be discussed
by Raymond S. Sinatra, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology
at Yale University. Another article will focus on
a study of technology to visualize pain transmission
by Richard C. Shinaman, M.D., formerly of Stanford
University. Other trade press outlets intending to
run articles on the Annual Meeting include the Medical
Post of Canada and Anesthesiology News.
Terri A. Monk, M.D., and researchers at Duke University,
Durham, North Carolina, received nationwide media
attention for their study on the cognitive decline
of elderly patients who undergo deep anesthesia. The
study was also featured in a number of media outlets,
including CBSNews.com and WebMD.
As in the past, the Audioline Radio program was open
to scientific program presenters, committee chairs
and officers to provide a platform to discuss topics
that will enrich the public’s knowledge about
anesthesiology-related issues. From the interviews
conducted at the Annual Meeting, radio news reports
are made and disseminated to radio stations and networks
in every part of the country. The Audioline interviews
reached audiences of more than 15 million this year.
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