CMS is temporarily permitting certified registered nurse anesthetists to practice without physician supervision as part of sweeping regulatory changes the agency released March 30 to help hospitals respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many hospitals are converting their operating rooms into intensive care units and repurposing anesthesia machines into ventilators to prepare for an influx of COVID-19 patients. Nurse anesthetists will play a vital role in monitoring patients on these repurposed ventilators and be able to troubleshoot any issues that arise, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists wrote in an email to Becker's.
The dropped supervision requirements come several weeks after AANA CEO Randall Moore, DNP, CRNA, met with President Donald Trump and other senior White House officials to discuss key priorities for advanced practice nurses during the pandemic.
The supervision requirements will remain suspended through the duration of the government's national emergency declaration.
CMS is temporarily permitting certified registered nurse anesthetists to practice without physician supervision as part of sweeping regulatory changes the agency released March 30 to help hospitals respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.