The Society's Mid Year Meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta on October 21, 2005. Among the more important developments arising from the Atlanta meeting is that Ambulatory Anesthesia will become a subspecialty track at the ASA Annual Meeting, beginning with the 2006 meeting in Chicago.  A Scientific Content Subcommittee has been appointed by ASA President Dr. Fred Guidry; the committee will be chaired by Dr. Barbara Gold and includes representatives from SAMBA as well as from the ASA Committee on Ambulatory Surgical Care.  The SAMBA Board has determined that the Midyear Meeting will be held in conjunction with the 2006 ASA (on the Friday prior).  The Ambulatory portion of the ASA meeting will include panels, refresher courses, the SAMBA breakfast panel, as well as new formats such as pro-con debates.  Stay tuned as details become available for this exciting new format.

NEW SECTION EDITOR (AMBULATORY ANESTHESIA) - ANESTHESIA & ANALGESIA - TOP

Professor Peter Glass, MB ChB

The SAMBA Board of Directors and the IARS Board of Trustees are pleased to announce the selection of Peter Glass, MB, ChB, as Section Editor, Ambulatory Anesthesia, for the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.  Dr. Glass is Professor and Chairman of Anesthesiology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  He has been on the Editorial Board of A&A since 2003 and has a distinguished research record in ambulatory anesthesia and pharmacokinetics.  Dr. Glass also serves SAMBA as a committee chair and a member of the Board of Directors.  Dr. Glass will replace Dr. Paul White whose nine-year term as section editor is coming to a close; SAMBA is grateful to Dr. White for his service in this capacity. 

 

NEW AAASF WEB SITE - ACCESS TO ACCREDITATION PROCESS - TOP

The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, Inc. (http://www.aaaasf.org/) is launching a new comprehensive accreditation web site. The following information is obtained from a recent press release and will be of interest to SAMBA membership.

The new site offers an online alternative to traditional methods of the accreditation process. The AAASF expects that the new site will eliminate mail delays and time consuming phone calls to check on account status and faxed correspondence. New applicants and existing facilities can view the progress of their application or re-application respectively. They will be able to update their account and submit electronic files when needed to complete the process. This new web tool will complement the inspection made by a Certified AAAASF Inspector to evaluate a facility's compliance with AAAASF standards. The web site will simplify the scheduling of facility inspections and streamline the submission of inspector reports.

With the launch of this new process and recent standards changes that allow the inclusion of ABMS non-surgical physicians, board certified osteopathic physicians and podiatrists, AAAASF expects to appeal to a broader field of qualified medical specialist seeking to maximize their patient safety awareness and quality improvement commitment through accreditation. The AAAASF will be able to gather important data concerning an expanded roster of medical specialists and the procedures they perform in the outpatient setting and help improve quality of care and patient safety.

PROPOFOL FDA LABEL CHANGE - TOP

On June 28th, 2005, a petition (2005P-0267) was filed with the US Food and Drug Administration by the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)  related to the administration of propofol (Diprivan) during endoscopic procedures.  The petition asks the FDA to remove the specifications requiring individuals administering propofol to be trained in the administration of general anesthesia.

You can express your opinions on this change to the FDA by visiting www.fda.gov and clicking on "Comment on Proposed Regulations" from the homepage. The petition number is 2005P-0267.

For more information visit www.safepropofol.org. This is an advocacy campaign intended to raise awareness on the risks associated with the FDA label change. The campaign website includes copies of the FDA petition as well as draft letters for advocates to send to the FDA.

SAMBA ANNUAL MEETING - TOP

Be sure to attend the SAMBA 21st Annual Meeting
May 4-7, 2006
J.W. Marriott Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.

Dr. TJ Gan will chair next year's Annual Meeting, with Dr. Peter Glass as vice-chair. 

Call for Abstracts and Residents' Travel Awards

The Committee on Scientific Papers has issued a call for abstracts for the 21st Annual Meeting. The Society encourages residents in anesthesiology training programs to become more involved in SAMBA. The Society will issue a limited number of travel awards to anesthesiology residents whose scientific abstracts are accepted for presentation at the SAMBA 21st Annual Meeting.

Electronic Abstract Submission Deadline: February 13, 2006

SAMBA SURVEY ON DROPERIDOL COMPLETE - TOP

Almost 300 people responded to the SAMBA survey on the use of droperidol. Thanks for your participation! Among the findings of interest:

• Droperidol is still on the hospital formulary in 73.8% of hospitals
• Since the FDA's black box warning was issued, the use of droperidol as first-line agent for the prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting  has fallen from 46.7 to 5.4%.

The survey findings will be analyzed and published in full by the study team lead by Dr TJ Gan. Look out for next month's survey, on another controversial topic - Cox-2 inhibitors and their cardiovascular effects.

Maintaining a vibrant organization requires input from our membership.  The “SAMBA Survey” will become a regular feature on this site that will help us better assess the needs of the membership as well as to get basic survey information on various practice issues. 

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