Tennessee Governor Signs Law Protecting Patients from Medical Title Misappropriation

CHICAGO – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law Senate Bill 1720/House Bill 2451, a vital patient protection measure that prevents the misleading use of medical specialty titles, including “anesthesiologist” and “anesthesiology” by unqualified individuals. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and Tennessee Society of Anesthesiologists (TSA) applaud this action, which will protect patients in Tennessee from titles that mispresent a health care professional’s true expertise.

“Nurse anesthetists who use the medical term ‘anesthesiologist’ misinform and confuse patients.  Our patients deserve to be fully informed of their health care providers’ qualifications,” said ASA President Ronald L. Harter, M.D., FASA. “This new law affirms the most fundamental right of patients to know the qualifications, training and licensure of the health care professionals treating them.”

The law, which is effective immediately, only allows physicians to use medical specialty titles, including “anesthesiologist” or “anesthesiology,” and prohibits deceptive and misleading advertisements, including misrepresentations or false descriptions of a health care provider’s profession, skill, expertise, degree, or license.

“TSA is committed to ensuring patients have accurate information about their health care professionals,” said TSA President Jeff Ollis, M.D., MBA, FASA, MBA. “We congratulate the governor on prioritizing this important pro-patient legislation.”

Anesthesiologists are medical doctors who specialize in anesthesia care, pain management, and critical care medicine, bringing the knowledge required to treat the entire body. Their education and training includes 12 to 14 years of education, including medical school, and 12,000 to 16,000 hours of clinical training to specialize in anesthesia care and pain control. Nurse anesthetists do not attend medical school and have about half the education of an anesthesiologist and only 2,500 hours of clinical training.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with nearly 58,000 members organized to advance the medical practice of anesthesiology and secure its future. ASA is committed to ensuring anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of all patients before, during and after surgery. ASA members also lead the care of critically ill patients in intensive care units, as well as treat pain in both acute and chronic settings.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about how anesthesiologists help ensure patient safety, visit asahq.org/madeforthismoment. Like ASA on Facebook and follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

THE TENNESSEE SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
The Tennessee Society of Anesthesiologists (TSA) is a physician organization, representing anesthesiologists in Tennessee. TSA is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of the profession of anesthesiology and committed to providing the greatest patient safety.

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