Many anesthesiologists participate in medical outreach efforts to underserved regions around the world. The tragic earthquake in Haiti is a disaster of unimaginable scope. There will be opportunities for us to offer humanitarian assistance as the citizens of Haiti begin the difficult challenges of rebuilding their country. The medical infrastructure in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas has been severely damaged, and experts anticipate that Haiti will need outside help in delivering medical and surgical services for the foreseeable future.

A number of humanitarian organizations have taken the lead in coordinating these efforts. The American Society of Anesthesiologists has published a web page to help those of us who want to help to do so in the most effective way possible. If you do participate, please share your story with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with the survivors of this tragedy.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently updated the interpretive guidelines for hospital participation in the Medicare program. Several changes impact the delivery of anesthesia services within the hospital and will probably impact the practice of most anesthesiologists. The important revisions involve timing of a preoperative assessment, post-operative note, and a redefinition of labor neuraxial blocks as analgesia services, eliminating physician supervision requirements for nurse anesthetists and anesthesia assistants. ASA is currently reviewing these revisions and will provide additional information when available.

For additional information, please see this ASA posting.

The Oregon Medical Board has instituted a new administrative rule related to continuing medical education requirements and demonstration of ongoing competency as a prerequisite for renewing an Oregon medical license. The rule requires:

1. Ongoing participation in re-certification by an American Board of Medical Specialties board, the American Osteopathic Association's Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists or the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants;
   
   OR
   
   
2. 60 hours of continuing medical education per two years relevant to the licensee's current medical practice as follows:
• American Medical Association Category 1;
• American Osteopathic Association Category 1-A; or
• American Academy of Physician Assistants Category 1 (pre-approved)

If you are not participating in re-certification by the ABMS board, the AOA-BOS board, or the NCCPA board, you must complete the applicable credit hours by October 2011 (for the next renewal period 2012/13).

Thanks to the OMA for bringing this to our attention. For further information, see the specific Oregon Medical Board administrative rule OAR 847-008-0070 .

For those with ties to Oregon anesthesiology, we look forward to seeing you this weekend in New Orleans.

2009 Oregon Anesthesiology Reception

Saturday, October 17, 2009 from 5:30 ? 7:30 p.m. CDT at:

ACME OYSTER HOUSE
French Quarter
724 Iberville
New Orleans, LA 70130

Sponsored by the OHSU Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that a new reference standard resulting from the heparin contamination issue last year will lead to about a 10% reduction in actual potency. This may affect your dosing of heparin in the perioperative period for vascular, cardiac and other procedures.

For more information, see this press release at http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm184502.htm.

The ASA will be hosting a webinar focusing on pain coding. If you deliver chronic pain services or you have staff who must determine the codes for these procedures, you should consider attending. This will be an excellent opportunity to improve your knowledge base and help assure compliant coding that will possibly improve your collections AND keep you out of trouble with regulators.

For more information, visit this ASA Webinar page.

Introduction

The Board of Directors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists held its annual meeting in Chicago the weekend of August 22-23, 2009. Norm Cohen from Portland and Chuck Anderson from Bend represented Oregon as your Director and Alternate Director respectively.

While much of the hallway talk at the meeting centered around healthcare reform proposals circulating in Congress, including the perils that a Medicare-based public option holds for the specialty, the Board addressed a number of items of business that are important to ASA members. The ASA Speaker divides the business of the Board into four categories, each heard by a separate Board Committee. Board members and others may testify on any item of business during the Board Committee hearings held on the first day of the meeting. These committees then recommend to accept, accept with modifications or reject each action item. The Board Committee chairs present these recommendations to the full board on the second day of the meeting. The Board can accept, accept with modifications or reject each Board Committee recommendation. Usually, only a few items lead to significant debate during this session. Final approval for all items rests with the ASA House of Delegates, which meets each October.

Sustaining and enhancing anesthesiology as a profession requires us to attract new members to the fold. Engaging, energizing and educating medical students plays a big role in meeting that goal.

In 2004, the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (APOM) at OHSU, under the leadership of Jeffrey Kirsch, M.D., established the Betty B. Thompson, M.D. Award. Each year, the graduating resident who best demonstrates excellence in teaching medical students receives this honor. Dr. Thompson served on the faculty in APOM at OHSU for 27 years, during which she spent much time educating medical students.

In 2008 the ASA conducted extensive research on the perceptions surrounding anesthesiologists, and found that patients, and many in the medical community are too often unaware of the important role anesthesiologists play in modern medicine. Anesthesiologists' work is too often perceived by others as routine or low risk without understanding that anesthesiologists are highly trained medical doctors who make lifesaving surgery and pain management possible.

Medicare published its 2009 Physician Fee Schedule rule in the Federal Register this week. Due to the legislative mandates from the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), the average national anesthesia conversion factor will increase nearly 5%, this on top of a nearly 25% increase last year. The ASA has issued a release on their website with additional information. Every member of the Oregon congressional delegation supported MIPPA, which also included a fix for the anesthesia teaching rule set to go into effect in January 2010. The Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists is grateful for the leadership shown by our members of Congress this past summer in both passing this important bill and over-riding a presidential veto in the process.