Anesthesiologists’ familiarity with the ASA and ACS guidelines on Advance Directives in the perioperative setting

• Published in: Journal of clinical anesthesia Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 174 - 176
• Main Authors: Nurok, Michael, Green, Douglas S.T., Chisholm, Mary F., Fins, Joseph J., Liguori, Gregory A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.05.2014; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Academic Medical Centers; Adult; Advance Directives; Anesthesia; Anesthesia & Perioperative Care; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Anesthesiologists; Anesthesiology; Anesthesiology - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Compliance; End-of-life care; Female; Guideline Adherence; Guidelines; Health care; Health Care Surveys; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Medical personnel; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Operating room; Pain Medicine; Patients; Perioperative Care - methods; Physicians; Physicians - statistics & numerical data; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Right to die; Studies; Surgery; Advance directives; End-of-life care; Compliance; Anesthesiologists; Operating room; Guidelines; Mechanical compliance; Perioperative; End of life decision; Anesthesiologist; Recommendation; Care
• ISSN: 0952-8180; 1873-4529; 1873-4529
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2013.11.011

To assess anesthesiologists’ familiarity with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and American College of Surgeons (ACS) guidelines on Advance Directives in the perioperative setting. Single-center, 4-question anonymous survey. Urban academic medical center. Up to 34 subjects responded to each question. Familiarity with the ASA and ACS guidelines on Advance Directives in the perioperative setting ranged from 45% to 100%. There was inadequate familiarity with components of the ASA and ACS guidelines on advance directives in the perioperative setting. Larger studies are required to assess anesthesiologists' familiarity with national society guidelines that directly affect patient care. Future work should investigate best practices for guideline implementation, and consequences of poor adherence to national guidelines.