The Future of Anesthesia – Addressing Workforce Shortages

The SedAssure team combines clinical expertise, executive leadership, and strategic communication to drive innovation in safe, efficient sedation care across outpatient and office-based settings.

With demand for surgical and procedural sedation rising, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and office-based surgical facilities (OBFs) are struggling to secure the anesthesia coverage needed to maintain efficiency, ensure patient safety, and minimize delays, without breaking the bank. This workforce shortage is not expected to improve until the mid-2030s, leaving healthcare facilities searching for viable solutions today.

By focusing on safety, efficiency, and dependability, SedAssure is redefining how sedation services are delivered. Let’s explore the key factors contributing to anesthesia workforce shortages and how solutions like SedAssure are shaping the future of moderate sedation.

Increasing Demand for Anesthesia Services The demand for anesthesia services continues to rise due to an aging population with complex medical conditions needing more sophisticated and elective procedures. By 2030, the number of U.S. residents aged 65 and older is expected to increase by 55%, and the number of people aged 75 and older will grow by 73%.1 The increase in the elderly by 2030 will directly impact the number of hospital-based procedures requiring moderate sedation, at the same time there is a nadir in anesthesiologist and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) availability. ASCs and OBFs have increased in popularity within communities, providing patients with convenient, cost-effective surgical options outside of traditional hospital settings. However, these facilities also often struggle to secure the anesthesia personnel required to meet growing patient volumes.

A Limited Supply of Anesthesia Providers The number of trained anesthesiologists and CRNAs has not kept pace with demand. Several factors contribute to this imbalance, including lengthy training and certification processes for anesthesia professionals, an aging workforce, and geographic disparities, with rural and underserved areas facing the most acute shortages. In 2020, there were 53,804 anesthesiologists practicing in the U.S. with an average age of 52.6 years, and 45% of anesthesiologists are older than 55.2 There is a strong likelihood that a significant portion of these anesthesiologists will be retired in the next 15-20 years, only aggravating the shortage.

Making matters worse, there has been a decentralization of surgery over the last few decades. Consider a lineup of three surgeons, each with three surgical cases, one surgeon following the other, all slotted for completion in a single operating room covered by one anesthesiologist. Today, these same nine cases might be dispersed over three or four surgery centers, in separate operating rooms, requiring coverage by three or four anesthesiologists or CRNAs, as opposed to just one if they were completed in a hospital. This “relative” increase in demand, added to the above “absolute” increase in demand, in front of the backdrop of supply scarcity, has created a perfect storm hanging over nearly every hospital, ASC and OBFs in the United States. Lest we forget those ultimately inconvenienced or harmed—the countless communities whose surgical patients are experiencing surgery delays and cancellations

On a national level, expansion in the number of operating rooms marches on, despite the lack of adequate anesthesia staff required to cover them. This results in cancelled procedures, reduced patient throughput, and financial strain. Traditional anesthesia staffing models, which rely heavily on in-house teams or contracted anesthesia groups, are proving insufficient to meet evolving needs.

SedAssure is pioneering an alternative model that provides a seamless, comprehensive, purpose-built sedation solution designed to mitigate the challenges posed by anesthesia workforce shortages. Here’s how:

SedAssure relieves facilities of the logistical and operational burden of securing safe, comprehensive, and reliable coverage of procedure rooms. Their service model includes:

Highly skilled sedationists who specialize in moderate sedation and case triage Medication, equipment, and supply management Full compliance with safety and regulatory standards Remote patient monitoring and decision support (coming in 2026) This holistic approach allows hospitals, ASCs and OBFs to operate with a little less worry of anesthesia staffing gaps.

By integrating SedAssure’s solutions, facilities can avoid procedure cancellations, maximize patient throughput, and reduce wait times. Their dependable sedation coverage ensures that proceduralists and facility managers can focus on delivering quality care rather than scrambling for anesthesia solutions.

Hiring full-time anesthesiologists or contracting with large anesthesia groups can be cost-prohibitive, especially for smaller ASCs and office-based facilities. SedAssure offers a more affordable alternative, providing high-quality sedation services without the overhead costs of full-time staffing.

SedAssure’s model is designed for seamless integration with existing workflows. Whether a facility requires full-time daily coverage or supplemental support for high-demand days, SedAssure offers flexible solutions tailored to specific needs.

Historically, most diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involved large incisions and general anesthesia. Next-gen surgery is minimally invasive and often can be performed under sedation, provided thoughtful triage is based on patients and procedure factors.

The timing couldn’t be better.

With Draconian shortages of anesthesiologists and CRNAs afoot, SedAssure’s affiliated sedationists represent an increasingly viable option for many procedures that traditionally required deep anesthesia. Sedationists can safely and effectively relieve bottlenecks and expand the range of procedures that can be performed without the need for an anesthesiologist or CRNA.

Advancements in remote monitoring and digital health tools are improving patient safety and procedural efficiency. SedAssure leverages these and other technologies to uniquely offer evidence-based triaging and decision support.

Evolving regulations, such as Medicare’s “Conditions of Participation,” are influencing how sedation services are managed. SedAssure’s approach helps to ensure that facilities remain compliant with these requirements, reducing liability and maintaining high standards of care.

The migration of surgical procedures from hospital operating rooms to hospital procedure suites, ASCs and OBFs has intensified demand for alternative and conforming anesthesia models. SedAssure helps provide these facilities with the support needed to maintain patient access while alleviating the burden on in-house anesthesia teams.

The anesthesia workforce shortage presents a serious challenge for healthcare facilities nationwide. However, SedAssure’s innovative solutions offer a promising path forward. By providing dependable, efficient, and cost-effective sedation services, SedAssure is helping facilities navigate staffing shortages and maintain high standards of patient care.

As the industry continues to evolve, healthcare leaders must embrace flexible, scalable anesthesia and sedation solutions that optimize resources and enhance procedural efficiency. The future of anesthesia and sedation lies in forward-thinking models that prioritize safety, accessibility, and seamless integration—principles that SedAssure is already putting into action with its affiliated sedationists.