Planned surgeries in Rhode Island would face tighter anesthesia rules

In Rhode Island, elective deep sedation and general anesthesia would get a narrower legal lane. The bill adds a new section to the state’s Nurses law and bars registered nurses and nurse practitioners who are not certified registered nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs, from administering, initiating, titrating, bolusing or maintaining general anesthetics for elective, scheduled, non-emergent procedures.

That restriction is aimed at planned care, not urgent moments. It would not apply in emergency, urgent, resuscitative, trauma, critical care or urgent bedside procedural situations where delay would materially risk a patient’s health or safety.

Where the line stops

The bill is careful about what it does not do. It says the change applies only to nursing practice authority under Rhode Island law and should not be read to regulate, restrict, define, expand, diminish, supersede or otherwise affect the scope of practice, licensure authority, delegated authority, credentialing, privileging, supervision or lawful professional activities of other health professionals.

It also leaves room for training. A registered nurse enrolled as a bona fide student in an approved nurse-anesthesia program could still participate in the administration of deep sedation or general anesthesia under the supervision of a CRNA or anesthesiologist.

Available key vote records show the bill advanced without recorded no votes.