Meeting Your Anesthesiologist
Before your surgery, you will meet an important physician specialist—your anesthesiologist. A vital member of the surgical team, your anesthesiologist has the critical responsibility for your welfare when you undergo anesthesia. The anesthesiologist is your advocate in the operating room.
“One of health care’s principle patient safety success stories is anesthesiology. In the 1980s, in the midst of a separate medical liability crisis, the rate of anesthesia-related deaths was one in 10,000; 6,000 people a year who had undergone anesthesia died or suffered brain damage…the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) decided to seize the opportunity presented by the crisis to improve anesthesiology safety.”
“Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Improving the Medical Liability System and Preventing Patient Injury,” Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), February 2005