COVID-19

ASA's Statements and Recommendations on COVID-19

• Updated Statement: ASA-APSF Joint Statement on Elective Surgery/Procedures and Anesthesia for Patients After COVID-19 Infection (June 20, 2023).
• Updated Statement: ASA and APSF Joint Statement on Perioperative Testing for the COVID-19 Virus (June 15, 2022)
• Resolution on the COVID-19 Pandemic: ASA Addresses the Systemic Life Imbalances Anesthesiologists Are Experiencing (December 13, 2020)
• Statement on Early Access to COVID-19 Vaccination for Anesthesia Professionals (December 12, 2020)
• ASA and APSF Joint Statement on Perioperative Testing for the COVID-19 Virus (December 8, 2020)
• Updated Joint Statement: Roadmap for Maintaining Essential Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic (November 23, 2020)
• Joint Statement: Roadmap for Maintaining Essential Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic (August 10, 2020)
• ASA-APSF Joint Statement on the Necessity of Wearing Face Masks in Public (June 30, 2020)
• AORN, ASA, and APSF Clarification of Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) Use in the Operating Room and Other Procedural Areas in Which Sterile Fields are Present (June 30, 2020)
• Critical Care Drug Recommendations for COVID-19 During Times of Drug Shortages (June 25, 2020)
• ASA, APSF, AAAA, and AANA Joint Position Statement on the Use of Personal Protective Equipment by Anesthesia Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic (June 3, 2020)
• ASA/APSF Joint Statement on Perioperative Testing for the COVID-19 Virus (June 3, 2020)
• ASA Statement on the Use of Nurse Anesthetists During COVID (May 1, 2020) 
• ASA/ASHP Joint Statement on Minimizing Medication Waste during the Coronavirus-19 Global Pandemic (April 22, 2020)
• ASA Statement on Facility Requirement for Personal Protective Equipment (April 19, 2020)
• SAMBA’s Statement on Resuming Ambulatory Anesthesia Care, endorsed by ASA and ASCA (PDF) (April 18, 2020)
• ASA, ACS, AHA, AORN Joint Statement: Roadmap for Resuming Elective Surgery after COVID-19 Pandemic (April 17, 2020)
• AHA, AAP, ASA, AARC, SOCCA, ACEP Scientific Statement on Interim Guidance for BLS, ALS for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 (April 9, 2020)
• Purchase and Wearing of Personal Protective Equipment by Anesthesiologists and other Anesthesia Professionals (April 1, 2020)
• ASA, SCCM, AARC, APSF, AACN, CHEST Issue Joint Statement on Multiple Patients Per Ventilator  (March 26, 2020)
• ASA, ACS and AORN Joint Statement Recommending a Surgical Review Committee for COVID-19-Related Surgical Triage Decision Making  (March 24, 2020)
• ASA and SCCM Joint Statement to Collaboratively Address the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 23, 2020)
• ASA’s Committee on Occupational Health offers recommendations to effectively and safely care for and transport patients with known or suspected COVID-19 infection.

FAQs and Resources

FAQs

Continually updated answers and advice to address questions and issues for members and the anesthesia community, related to anesthesia machines and equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety, clinical care, facility policies, billing and advocacy.  Please submit your questions to [email protected].

• General
• Anesthesia Machines and Equipment Maintenance
• Clinical Care
• Elective Surgery
• Federal Advocacy
• Hospital and Facility Administration
• Occupational Safety and Wellness
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Practice Management and Billing
• Patient Testing
• Vaccines

Guidance on Purposing Anesthesia Machines as ICU Ventilators

APSF and ASA provide guidance and instruction for using anesthesia ventilators safely and effectively as ICU ventilators. For direct and customized advice, please send your questions about to [email protected]    Access resources and a quick reference guide → 

Training Resources to Manage COVID-19 Patients in the ICU

Hand-selected collection of critical care medicine courses and resources, now completely complimentary, to boost critical care skills to manage COVID-19 patients. Explore now →

COVID Activated Emergency Scaling of Anesthesiology Responsibilities (CAESAR) ICU

A library of ongoing resources and information pertaining to handling the COVID patient.

ERAS 2021 Residency Timeline Dates – Final Report and Recommendations for Medical Education Institutions of LCME-Accredited, U.S. Osteopathic, and Non-U.S. Medical School Applicants

This guidance document was created by the "Coalition for Physician Accountability's Work Group on Medical Students in the Class of 2021 Moving Across Institutions for Post-Graduate Training" in response to urgent requests for a consistent approach to medical student away rotations and in-person interviews for the 2020-2021 residency cycle. Read the recommendations (PDF)→

ASA COVID-19 Webinars and Podcasts

Watch the recent Town Hall Webinars

Explore the video recordings and slides for eight webinars where experts fielded audience questions and presented:

• Strategies for stress management and wellness
• Insights on safe resumption of elective surgery
• Instruction on using anesthesia machines as ICU ventilators
• Lessons from the pandemic in New York
• Guidance on PPE
• Hypercoagulopathy and neuroanesthesia advice
• Economic impact and opportunities

These webinar activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^™. Watch now →

Listen to Podcasts

• Listen to the special COVID-19 episodes of ASA’s Central Line and Residents in a Room podcast series.
• Hear the podcast from The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) featuring ASA experts discussing anesthesiology during a pandemic.
• Hear the podcast from the ASA and American Hospital Association (AHA) about clinical and administrative team learnings and experiences as a result of COVID-19.