Money drives many of the decisions industries have to make and healthcare is no exception. As things become more expensive and less efficient, people are looking for ways to improve the quality and cost of care. Ian Hewer, PhD, CRNA, is an assistant professor at Western Carolina University and has turned much of his focus to healthcare economics and QZ team billing. Today he’ll tell us more about this team approach, how it’s impacting cost, and why it’s a good thing for CRNAs.    

Read more: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/ep-155-how-the-economics-of-healthcare-could-change-anesthesia/3076/ 

Get the CE certificate here: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Beyond-the-Mask-CE-Cert-FILLABLE.pdf

Make a Memorial or Tribute Gift to the AANA: https://www.aana.com/docs/default-source/foundation-aana-com-web-documents-(all)/memorial-and-tribute-gift-summary.pdf?sfvrsn=de8545b1_0 

What we discuss in this episode: 

4:34 – Introducing today’s guest and topic

6:53 – The anesthesia care team model

11:24 – Background on QZ billing

14:15 – Supervision

16:45 – How will affect the future of anesthesia?

22:48 – What does the average anesthetist make?

26:03 – Outcomes vs amount spent

30:57 – Solutions for the future

35:49 – What patients think of their care

37:02 – Problems with employer-based insurance system

38:34 – Two options we face

42:46 – CRNAs in good position

44:10 – Lightning Round