Methadone is a synthetic opioid analgesic used as a maintenance drug in those with opioid use disorder (OUD) and increasingly for cancer or chronic non-malignant pain.1 Methadone was first created in 1937 by two German scientists, Max Bockmhl and Gustav Ehrhart, who were searching for a pain killer that was less addictive than morphine.2 At… Continue reading Methadone: Biological Mechanisms, Clinical Uses and Side Effects

The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is one of two tracks under the Quality Payment Program (QPP), which moves Medicare Part B providers to a performance-based payment system (1). MIPS was designed to tie payments to quality and cost efficient care, drive improvement in care processes and health outcomes, increase the use of healthcare information,… Continue reading Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)

Healthcare institutions and practitioners are in the business of changing and saving lives. Anesthesia services must operate to support this endeavor. In a conventional hospital setting, anesthesiologists and anesthesia staff are employed directly by the hospital and are assigned to operating rooms, serving patients who are admitted to that hospital at ports of entry. However,… Continue reading Mergers and Acquisitions of Anesthesia Groups

Maggie S. Chen Methadone (also known as Dolophine), is a synthetic opioid that is commonly used during cases of opioid dependence as well as for other chronic pain therapy. Developed in the late 1930s in Germany, it was approved for usage in the US in 1947. Since then, methadone quickly became the analgesic drug of… Continue reading Methadone: Biological Mechanisms, Surgical Applications, and Side Effects

Maggie S. Chen The onset of the technological revolution has changed the way healthcare is practiced. Robotic surgery became popular as healthcare professionals moved toward more minimally invasive surgical techniques. These techniques, along with the technological innovations associated with them, led to benefits such as reduced wound access trauma, shorter hospital stay, improved visualization, less… Continue reading The Evolution of Robotic Anesthesia

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the force of blood against artery walls is higher than expected.1 If it remains untreated, chronic hypertension can cause damage to the blood vessels and heart, ultimately leading to health problems such as heart attack and stroke.1 Like many other disorders, hypertension can… Continue reading Hypertension and Anesthesia Risks

Halothane, also known as fluothane, is a nonflammable, halogenated hydrocarbon and inhalational general anesthetic.1 Halothane was created in the 1950s by Charles Suckling, an English chemist, after two years of research and testing.2,3 At the time, ether and chloroform were common anesthetics, but their flammable nature made them dangerous in the operating room.4 Halothane, which… Continue reading Halothane: Biological Mechanisms, Surgical Applications and Side Effects

Groupon, an online coupon service that aims to offer “a vast mobile and online marketplace where people discover and save on amazing things to do, see, eat and buy,”1 has worked with over one million merchants since its founding in 2008.2,3 These days, many of those merchants are members of the health care field, who—through… Continue reading Groupons for Healthcare Treatment

The safe administration of general anesthesia requires an understanding of the technological advances in highly sophisticated anesthetic equipment. When using modern anesthetic workstations, it is important to understand the complex interaction between the delivery systems – which conduct anesthetic gases from an anesthetic machine to the patient – and the reservoir bag. The anesthesia reservoir… Continue reading Functions of anesthesia reservoir bag in a breathing system