Page 68 - 2022 Risk Basics - Anesthesiology

SVMIC Risk Basics: Anesthesiology

SVMIC’s claims experience with anesthetic awareness cases is

limited. A few have been asserted against our policyholders,
but to date, no loss payments have been made. That is not to

say, however, that all such claims are frivolous or should be

taken lightly.

To reduce the risk of anesthetic awareness, the

anesthesiologist should obtain as much information as

possible under the circumstances from the patient or
representative about the patient’s health including:

 Prior problems with anesthesia including being awake

 All medications the patient is taking or has recently taken

 History of drug or alcohol use

 Concerns about surgery including anesthesia awareness

The incidence of awareness is low when an inhalation agent is

used at 0.5 MAC or greater. End tidal volatile alarms are often
disabled because of technical challenges, but should always

be enabled to prevent awareness. Practitioners should also

double-check that the anesthetic dosage is correct for the
specific patient and verify that the equipment is operating

properly.

Distracting Devices

Anesthesia providers often find themselves with significant

downtime, especially during lengthy procedures. Accordingly,
they are tempted to use their Personal Electronic Devices

(PED) to be more productive or to just pass the time. Just like

using PEDs while driving, these devices can be a distraction

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