2024 ASA House of Delegates Recap Volume 35 Issue 4

Thank you for the opportunity to serve SOCCA as the alternate delegate to the ASA. This year’s meeting returned to Philadelphia for the first time since the 1960s and the City of Brotherly Love proved to be a great host city. The meeting was vibrant and energetic with over 12,700 people attending in person (including 1,200 international attendees) and an additional 500 virtual participants.

The House of Delegates (HOD) and reference committee meetings were equally high-spirited and full of rich discussion. Much of the discussion was focused in 2 areas: an intense competition for ASA first vice president and a proposal to reduce the length of the governance portion of the annual meeting to 4 days. Further details can be found below. 

Dr Donald Arnold, MD, FACHE, FASA ascended to the role of President.

Dr Jeffrey Mueller, MD, FASA from Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, was elected as first vice president. He brought forward a compelling platform that included professional unity and advocacy. His opponents, Dr Jay Mesrobian and Dr Michael Lewis ran competitive races and displayed a strong commitment to their respective causes.

The HOD voted to approve a change to the annual meeting which would result in consolidating the HOD to a single session on Tuesday. This would end the educational and governance component of the meeting on the same day. Implementation would not occur before the 2026 Annual Meeting. The impact to SOCCA is difficult to anticipate, however, there may be an increased number of conflicts in scheduling governance, educational and committee activities. 

Call to action in support of the ASAPAC as donations are at a 10 year low with <9% of anesthesiologists contributing.

The HOD approved multiple important and impactful statements. Most of these statements do not directly impact the specialty of critical care but may have implications for other areas of your practice, a sample of these statements are listed below. For full details, please reference the ASA website. 

Standards on Post anesthesia Care

Practice Advisory for Perioperative Care for Older Adults Scheduled for Inpatient surgery.

Continuum for Depth of Sedation

Drug Concentration Standardization

Economic Credentialing

Definition of “Immediately Available”

Harassment and Incivility

Fundamentals of Safe Workplace

Head Injuries in Anesthetizing Locations

Respiratory Monitoring during endoscopic procedures

Safe use of propofol

Statements on obstetric anesthesia – breastfeeding after anesthesia, pain during cesarean delivery, psychologic support, postpartum sterilization, and in vitro fertilization.

SafeHaven is a wellness initiative that offers support for physicians who may be experiencing symptoms of burnout, stress or experiencing personal or professional struggles. Services include counseling, peer coaching, leadership development, legal resources, and work life concierge. Financial support was approved to supplement a discounted rate for the first 500 members who sign up for the program. More information regarding the program is available at https://www.asahq.org/advocating-for-you/safehaven.