Outlook for Delivery and Cost of Anesthesia to Patients

To improve patient access to high-quality anesthesia care and make it more affordable, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) announced that Kavita Patel, MD, will be the keynote speaker at the association's Mid-Year Assembly April 2-6 in Washington, D.C. Patel, who has spent the majority of her career using her clinical experience to shape U.S. healthcare policy, provides clinical teams, healthcare professionals, and policymakers with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively respond to the challenges of the evolving U.S. healthcare system. During her address, Patel will share insights into the healthcare industry and the outlook for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Patel''s expertise spans delivery system reform, access, coverage, quality improvement, patient-centered care and care coordination.

"This assembly brings together anesthesia professionals keenly interested in improving the quality of anesthesia care delivery in today's healthcare system," said AANA President Juan Quintana, DNP, MHS, CRNA. "Dr. Patel''s critical role in policy development and evaluation of policy initiatives connected to health reform, financial regulatory reform, and economic recovery issues will be valuable information for CRNAs to take back to their everyday anesthesia practice."

The AANA Mid-Year Assembly is the largest advocacy meeting of CRNAs, with more than 1,000 nurse anesthetists expected to participate. The assembly educates attendees about the latest developments in healthcare policy and reimbursement.

Patel is a practicing primary care internist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and has also served in the Obama administration as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement in the White House. "CRNAs are perfectly suited to meet today's healthcare challenge of delivering safe, quality care to more people but at a lower cost, helping to control rising healthcare costs," said Quintana.

About the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)
Founded in 1931 and located in Park Ridge, Ill., the AANA is the professional organization for more than 49,000 nurse anesthetists across the United States. As anesthesia specialists, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) safely provide approximately 40 million anesthetics to patients each year for surgical, obstetrical, pain management, and trauma stabilization services. CRNAs deliver essential healthcare in thousands of communities and are able to prevent gaps in access to anesthesia services, especially in rural, inner-city, and other medically underserved areas of the country. They are highly valued in today's healthcare environment because they deliver the same safe, high-quality anesthesia care as other anesthesia professionals but at a lower cost, helping to control rising healthcare costs.

Source-Newswise