Colorado Governor Bill Ritter will decide in the next two weeks whether to opt out of a Medicare rule that says physician supervision is required for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA).

Anesthesiologists are against the change, saying it would put lives at risk, fearing that nurses will become less likely to discuss patients’ surgery preparation with physicians.

"It's hard to overstate how seriously we take patient safety," said Randall Clark, head of anesthesiology at Children's Hospital in Aurora and a spokesperson for the Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists. We "take this seriously because it is a matter of life and death."

Most rural health advocates are pushing for the change, saying that most rural hospitals don’t have anesthesiologists on staff and struggle to find physicians who will take on the liability of anesthesia.

Chief executive of the Colorado Rural Health Center, Lou Ann Wilroy, adds that CRNAs usually have more training in anesthesia than the supervising physician, when the physician is not an anesthesiologist.

If Ritter decides to opt out of the rule, it would make Colorado the 16th state to opt out since it became an option in 2001.

Source: denverpost.com