The Role of an Anesthesiologist
The medical expertise of this specialist has caused a dramatic expansion of the role of the anesthesiologist. Although historically, anesthesiologists have been known primarily as physicians who administer anesthesia to alleviate pain and suppress consciousness of the patient undergoing surgery, they also provide medical care and consultations in many other settings and situations in addition to the operating room.
The anesthesiologist is the perioperative physician (“peri-” meaning “all-around”) who provides medical care to each patient throughout his or her surgical experience. This includes medically evaluating the patient before surgery (preoperative), consulting with the surgical team, providing pain control and support of life functions during surgery (intraoperative), supervising care after surgery (postoperative) and medically discharging the patient from the recovery unit.
“Anesthesiologists have managed to improve anesthesia-related mortality dramatically in the last 40 years, changing anesthesia from a hazardous undertaking to one with an exemplary safety record.”
“National Health Care Quality Report,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 2003