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Ambulatory anesthesia: responding to the "boom" in outpatient surgery

Authors De Oliveira Jr GS

Received 14 January 2014

Accepted for publication 14 January 2014

Published 4 March 2014 Volume 2014:1 Pages 1—2

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/AA.S59280



Gildasio S De Oliveira Jr

Department of Anesthesiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA


The recent improvements in surgical techniques and the significant development of modern anesthetic agents have resulted in a tremendous growth in surgical procedures performed in an ambulatory setting. Currently, 70% of surgical procedures are performed in the outpatient setting. Further, the recent change in the health care system from a fee for service to pay for performance will likely result in an even greater number of surgical procedures being performed in the ambulatory setting.1

The anesthesia field has developed to accommodate the recent increase in the number of surgeries performed in the outpatient setting.2 Nevertheless, it is expected that increasing numbers of patients who undergo complex procedures and who are sicker will leave hospital on the same day of their surgical procedure. To assure the appropriate care and safety of those patients, much more research is needed in the ambulatory anesthesia field. In this context, a much-needed journal has been launched: Ambulatory Anesthesia.

The journal publishes a broad range of topics related to the care and safety of ambulatory patients. It not only focuses on traditional topics of interest to anesthesiologists, such as pharmacological interventions and anesthesia techniques, but also on regulatory issues and patient-centered outcomes. All types of article submissions (case reports, review articles and original articles) that contribute to the perioperative care of ambulatory surgical patients are therefore welcomed. A group of experts in the ambulatory anesthesia field has been assembled to compose the journal’s international editorial board that will certainly be instrumental in growing the journal’s reputation and readership in the coming years.

As Editor-in-Chief, my major goal for the coming year is to ensure the journal’s reputation increases and, thus, make it eligible for online indexing. Although indexing is frequently the major challenge facing new journals, I do anticipate a fast process for Ambulatory Anesthesia for several reasons. First, Dove Press has a very successful history in establishing online indexing quickly, as demonstrated with its recently launched journals. Second, the ambulatory field continues to grow substantially, and there is currently no other journal fully dedicated to the scientific aspects of developing anesthetic care in these patients. I will also work to ensure that the journal review process is not only fast and fair but also that it gives authors the ability to improve their work by gaining access to experts in the field.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions that may improve our journal. This coming year will certainly be a hallmark year for the ambulatory anesthesia field.

Disclosure

The author declares no conflicts of interest in this work.


References

1.

Britt LD, Hoyt DB, Jasak R, Jones RS, Drapkin J. Health care reform: impact on American surgery and related implications. Ann Surg. 2013;258(4):517–526.

2.

Krenk L, Jennum P, Kehlet H. Sleep disturbances after fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty. Br J Anaesth. 2012;109(5):769–775.

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