Existing law, the Nurse Anesthetists Act, provides for the certification and regulation of nurse anesthetists by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law requires the utilization of a nurse anesthetist to provide anesthesia services in an acute care facility to be approved by the acute care facility administration and the appropriate committee, and at the discretion of the physician, dentist, or podiatrist. Existing law makes a nurse anesthetist who is not an employee of an acute care facility subject to the bylaws of the facility.
This bill would provide that, in an acute care facility, outpatient setting, or dental office where the nurse anesthetist has been credentialed to provide anesthesia, the anesthesia services include preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care and pain management for patients receiving anesthesia requested by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist. The bill would authorize a nurse anesthetist to provide direct and indirect patient care services that include the administration of medications and therapeutic agents, as specified. The bill would provide that an order entered on the chart or medical record of a patient constitutes authorization for the nurse anesthetist to select the modality of anesthesia and to abort or modify the modality during the course of care. The bill would state that ordering and administering controlled substances and other drugs pursuant to those provisions does not constitute a prescription. The bill would also provide that, in an acute care facility, outpatient setting, or dental office, anesthesia services may also include services performed outside of the perioperative setting, including, among others, ordering, evaluating, and interpreting diagnostic laboratory and radiological studies, and initiating orders to registered nurses and other appropriate staff, as specified. The bill would require a trainee, as defined, to satisfy specified requirements to provide anesthesia services in an acute care facility, outpatient setting, or dental office, including being enrolled in an accredited doctoral program of nurse anesthesia. The bill would provide that a nurse anesthetist is not limited to the scope of practice of a registered nurse while performing anesthesia services and is not required to, among other things, perform nurse anesthesia services pursuant to standardized procedures. The bill would revise the definition of "nurse anesthetist" and would define the terms "acute care facility," "outpatient setting," and "dental office" for purposes of the act.

Statutes affected:
AB 876: 2826 BPC, 2827 BPC, 2828 BPC
02/19/25 - Introduced: 2826 BPC, 2827 BPC, 2828 BPC