ambulatory anesthesia: responding to the "boom" in outpatient surgery

Gildasio S De Oliveira JrDepartment of Anesthesiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USAThe recent improvements in surgical techniques and the significant development of modern anesthetic agents have resulted in a tremendous growth in surgical procedures performed in an ambulatory setting. Currently, 70% of surgical procedures are performed in the outpatient setting. Further, the recent change in the health care system from a fee for service to pay for performance will likely result in an even greater number of surgical procedures being performed in the ambulatory setting.1The anesthesia field has developed to accommodate the recent increase in the number of surgeries performed in the outpatient setting.2 Nevertheless, it is expected that increasing numbers of patients who undergo complex procedures and who are sicker will leave hospital on the same day of their surgical procedure. To assure the appropriate care and safety of those patients, much more research is needed in the ambulatory anesthesia field. In this context, a much-needed journal has been launched: Ambulatory Anesthesia.