In the Winter 2019 Communique from Anesthesia Business Consultants, Jody Locke offers an article considering the possibilities of an Uber-type service in anesthesia. The entertaining article draws the analogy between consumers’ appetite for on-demand transportation to the desire of hospital administrators wanting on-demand 24/7 coverage for anesthesia but only wanting to pay when service is needed. Rather than hard-wiring coverage for the busiest possible day, Mr. Locke suggests that there may be an opportunity to look at things differently. To create an on-demand “Uber Anesthesia”.
EHC NOTE: While many obstacles to creating an on-demand framework of anesthesia providers exist and may seem insurmountable, certainly the concept of connecting strangers to each other as a reliable mode of transportation seemed just as unlikely several years ago. In the gig economy, perhaps healthcare may be ripe for some gig solutions. As Mr. Locke closes his article, he asks readers to imagine if someone figures out how to better match supply with demand and figures out how to make hospital-anesthesia group relations more closely resemble a win-win. It’s interesting to imagine.
Dr. Robert Stiefel is a board-certified anesthesiologist and co-founder of a major anesthesia practice management company that operated across 27 facilities. With over 20 years of experience as a clinician and consultant, he is a national leader in understanding anesthesia expense drivers. He has led initiatives in group governance, subsidy negotiations, compensation models, and policy development. For more than 16 years, he has consulted professionally and co-founded Enhance Healthcare with Dr. Greenfield. Dr. Stiefel earned his MD from Tufts and completed his residency at the University of Massachusetts.