SARS-CoV-2 has shaken us to our core. Now is the time to put politics aside, reflect on the gravity of the moment, and unite against our common enemy, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, FASA, told anesthesiologists during Friday’s Welcome Session, the official kick off of ANESTHESIOLOGY 2020.

This morning’s Opening Session/Keynote Address at 9 a.m. CT is Saturday’s don’t-miss event! 2020 ASA President Mary Dale Peterson, MD, MHA, FACHE, FASA, opens the session with a recap of what will surely be remembered as one of the most challenging years in the specialty’s history. But there were just as many positives – 2020 was the best Match year ever for anesthesiology.

Time. That is the No. 1 reason physicians report not always making a human connection with patients—and 56% of them reported that they don’t even have the time it takes to show compassion, according to Jake Poore, President and Chief Experience Officer of Integrated Loyalty Systems Inc. in Orlando.

We hope you’re enjoying the meeting so far and that you’re finding the interface to be intuitive and enjoyable. If you haven’t done so already, there are two very simple actions you can take to make sure your schedule and agenda are fully maximized.

When COVID-19 numbers spiked in New York City last spring, it was bigger than anything doctors there had ever seen before. It demanded ingenuity and the ability to adapt and skillfully steer through a learning curve at record speed. Doctors are still trying to process mentally, physically, and logistically everything that has happened since then, but are ready to share some of what they learned on the frontlines.

The current pandemic and resulting health care climate have wrought enormous amounts of stress on physicians—and sometimes, this spirals out of control, leading to substance abuse.

COVID-19 has affected every conceivable facet of the heath care industry, but few have been affected more than anesthesiology. This fact informs one of the key “lessons learned” that will be featured during the Saturday session “Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Panel: Ten Patient Safety Issues We’ve Learned from the COVID Pandemic.”

Tony Yaksh, PhD, MS, Professor and Vice Chair of Research at the University of California, San Diego, explores this pain conundrum when he delivers today’s “FAER-Helrich Research Lecture: Why Is Pain Such a Tough Nut to Crack?: A Mechanistic Perspective on Our Emphasis upon Neuraxial Processing.”

Being a successful anesthesiologist goes beyond just being a good doctor. It’s also about being good at business. The ability to follow and even predict business trends, keep up with the compensation structures for various care team models, and analyze billing metrics to optimize financial outcomes represent a fraction of the business acumen anesthesiologists must possess to be successful in their practice. 

If ever there were a time to ensure timely and safe access to ventilators, it’s now. That’s behind the longstanding engagement of the FDA Centers for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) and members of the Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA). These collaborations that began long before COVID-19 provided a foundation for rapid response to the pandemic.