Purpose of review: This review is aimed at highlighting the recent developments and opportunities that are likely to impact the anesthesia team of the future.
Recent findings: The anesthesia team of the future aims to provide well tolerated, efficient, and cost-effective perioperative care. Certified and subspecialty trained anesthesiologists lead a diverse team of care providers in increasingly dissimilar environments. The spread of electronic health record systems has been the basis for the development of clinical decision support applications that promise to integrate quality control, enhanced efficiency, research opportunities, and improved patient care in the perioperative period. Perioperative epidemiology is a likely area of growth within the field of anesthesiology ultimately enabling the anesthesia team to translate precise real-time information into improved outcome.
Summary: The anesthesia team of the future will require the anesthesiologist to provide expertise across the entire domain of perioperative medicine. Meaningful decision support systems rely on accurate data analysis and incorporation of current clinical guidelines and recommendations.