Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: I've seen several descriptions of anesthesia end time, but still am not clear on some details. Should the anesthesia end time be just before the notation that post-anesthesia care begins?

Michigan Subscriber

Answer: Just because a patient moves to a post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) doesn't mean your provider's responsibility ends. The anesthesiologist or CRNA might continue monitoring the patient in the PACU for several minutes, so changing locations doesn't constitute an automatic hand-off in care. Your provider's anesthesia time ends when he or she documents signing over care to another provider.

Definition: The American Society of Anesthesiologists defines anesthesia time as "the period during which an anesthesia practitioner is present with the patient. It starts when the anesthesia practitioner begins to prepare the patient for anesthesia services in the operating room or an equivalent area and ends when the anesthesia practitioner is no longer furnishing anesthesia services to the patient, that is, when the patient may be placed safety under postoperative care."