he ASA Board of Directors held its interim meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4, 2007. The Board committees on Administrative Affairs, Finance, Professional Affairs and Scientific Affairs met as Review Committees on Saturday to review reports for consideration by the Board of Directors on Sunday.

Among the actions taken by the Board of Directors were the following (unless otherwise noted, Board action is subject to action by the ASA House of Delegates in October):

WCA and Board Meeting in 2008
Due to conflicting dates with the 14th World Congress of Anaesthesiologists (WCA), the dates of the 2008 Interim Meeting of the Board will be moved to February 23-24.

Mentoring Program for Diversity
The Committee on Professional Diversity has been charged with developing a formal ASA Mentoring Program for Diversity, with appropriate support from the ASA Executive Committee, in an effort to recognize and enhance gender, racial, ethnic and multicultural diversity at all levels of involvement in ASA.

New and Updated Practice Parameters
1. An update of the Practice Guidelines for Obstetric Anesthesia, originally approved in 1998, was approved by the House in October 2006 and published in the April 2007 issue of Anesthesiology.

2. New Practice Guidelines for Neuraxial Opioids Associated with Respiratory Depression are being drafted with member input through open forums and are scheduled for completion by October 2007. A second practice parameter addressing the prevention, diagnosis and management of infections and bleeding complications associated with neuraxial blockade will follow completion of the respiratory depression document.

3. The Task Force for Practice Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Operating Room Fires also held an open forum in May, and the practice parameter is scheduled for completion in 2007.

4. A task force for a practice parameter on magnetic resonance imaging related to anesthetic practice is being formed and is planned to begin its work in fall 2007.

5. Also being updated with anticipated completion in 2008 are the Practice Guidelines for Perioperative Transesophegeal Echocardiography, first approved in 1996, and Practice Guidelines for Chronic Pain Management, first approved in 1997.

6. Other updates due for consideration include: cancer pain (approved in 1995) and preoperative fasting (approved in 1998). A total of 11 ASA evidence-based practice parameters are currently posted on the National Guideline Clearinghouse Web site www.guideline.gov.

Partnering for Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) Program
In light of the success of the ASA Certificate in Business Administration (CBA) program, now in its seventh year, formal discussions will begin to explore a partnership between ASA and the physician executive MBA program at Auburn University. An ASA-sponsored MBA program would likely require three years of coursework, could be entered using CBA credits and would be designed for working physicians and those with families.

2007 Budget
The Board approved an amended 2007 budget to provide for income of $25,100,625 and expenses of $25,398,740.

Performance and Outcomes Measurement
The work of the Committee on Performance and Outcomes Measurement was acknowledged, and ASA will continue to participate actively in the ongoing development of such measurements in an expedited fashion, which should include having measures available for consideration and working proactively with other organizations and agencies.

Smoking Cessation Initiative
The Task Force on Smoking Cessation Initiative requested support for a pilot project and related resources to support strategies for increasing the involvement of ASA members in smoking cessation efforts, with the ultimate goal of increasing the abstinence rates for their patients who smoke. The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is providing technical assistance and funding.

Anesthesia Advanced Cardiac Life Support
The Committee on Critical Care Medicine, in conjunction with the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (ASCCA), has drafted a document that outlines the development of a supplemental educational module/chapter, which focuses on the unique problems of perioperative cardiac arrest as an adjunct to the American Heart Association’s advanced cardiac life support guidelines or as an ASA monograph. The committee and ASCCA plan to jointly submit the final product to the House of Delegates in October.

Model Policy for Organ Donation After Cardiac Death
A draft Model Policy for Organ Donation After Cardiac Death (DCD) was developed by the Committee on Transplant Anesthesia and reviewed by the Committee on Critical Care Medicine, the Committee on Ethics and ASCCA to serve as an educational guide and template for departments of anesthesiology to use when developing their individual DCD policies. The document was referred back to the Committee on Transplant Anesthesia.

Medical Student Component
The Board approved a recommendation from the ASA Resident Component that the Medical Student Delegation be recognized as the Medical Student Component and function as a component society within ASA, separate from the Resident Component.