PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

New Jersey anesthesiologists win scope-of-practice battle

Physicians must supervise anesthesia during office-based surgeries in New Jersey.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. Jan. 17, 2005.

The Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division recently upheld tighter office anesthesia regulations for the supervision of nurse anesthetists set by the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners.

The New Jersey Assn. of Nurse Anesthetists sued to have the rules overturned, and the group is now asking the Supreme Court of New Jersey to hear the case. The court is expected to decide in the first half of the year whether it will do so. Meanwhile, the regulation, which had been suspended pending the appellate court's ruling, will go into effect Feb. 1.

Ervin Moss, MD, executive medical director for the New Jersey State Society of Anesthesiologists, said the court's decision would make the state one of the safest for in-office surgeries. "New Jersey is the first in the United States to established standards for offices that are the same as the standards for ambulatory care centers and hospitals," he said.

Ray Cantor, director of governmental affairs for the Medical Society of New Jersey, said the regulation requires two physicians to be on hand, the one performing the surgery and the other either administering the anesthesia or supervising the nurse anesthetist.

"This is one of those scope-of-practice victories that are rare to achieve, and it's very good for patient safety," he said. "That's the bottom line."

Cantor said the law applies only to offices with a single surgical suite, since those with two or more are regulated by the state's department of health. Until now, single surgical suites were not regulated at all, he said.

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