Thank you for your inquiry about our use of the term “physician anesthesiologist” as opposed to “anesthesiologist” in the ASA NEWSLETTER. We have made this change to consistently reinforce the fact that anesthesiologists are, indeed, physicians. Recent research conducted for ASA’s When Seconds Count™ endeavor found that nearly six in 10 Americans did not know that an anesthesiologist is a physician. The research also found that the public and policymakers are largely unaware of the critical role physician anesthesiologists play in providing the highest-quality and safest patient care.
ASA is addressing this in a number of ways, including using the term “physician anesthesiologist” regularly and asking our members to do the same. I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you would like to discuss this further. More information is also available at asahq.org/whensecondscount.
