Message from the President

November 2026

Fellow PSA Members: 

This month I will share information regarding ASA Hospital Bylaws resources, a summary of PSA activities at the ASA Annual Meeting, and a congratulations to newly elected PSA Resident Component leadership.

ASA Hospital Bylaws Resources

Effective medical-staff governance is an important safeguard for high-quality anesthesiology care. State law defines the legal scope of practice for physicians and other practitioners. Within that framework, medical-staff bylaws and related policies shape how anesthesia services are organized, how credentials and clinical privileges are reviewed, and how care is overseen. Pennsylvania regulations also provide for physician direction of a hospital anesthesia department. Strong collaboration between anesthesiologists, the medical staff, and hospital leadership helps ensure that privileges and service policies reflect the training, experience, and demonstrated competence of all those in the department. Anesthesiologists need to be involved in hospital bylaws, credentialing, and medical executive committees to ensure they have a voice.

The ASA has developed excellent educational resources to understand hospital governance issues and recommended actions. You can use these resources to evaluate department authority, privileging standards, quality oversight, and governance provisions. While these are not public-facing documents from the ASA, we can connect you and get you access to these documents through the PSA.      

CALL TO ACTION: 

• Check to see if the Credentialing, Bylaws, and Medical Executive Committees have anesthesiologist representation at your hospitals. If not, find out how to get on those committees and volunteer for those committees (your Department Chair will thank you!)
• Email the PSA to get access to the ASA Hospital Bylaws Resources.

PSA at the ASA Annual Meeting

Last month, members of the PSA Board of Directors attended the ASA Annual Meeting in San Diego and took part in ASA governance activities. ASA’s House of Delegates (HOD) brings together delegates representing each state component society, with the number of delegates based on the component’s membership. Throughout the year, ASA committees study issues within their areas of responsibility and prepare reports and recommendations for the HOD’s consideration. At its annual meeting, the HOD considers and acts on matters that shape the specialty, including ASA standards, practice guidelines, practice advisories, and statements.

A few highlights of the work that was done by the 2026 HOD:

• Approved the Practice Advisory on Perioperative Pain Management Using Local and Regional Analgesia for Orthopedic Surgeries
• Approved the Practice Advisory for Preoperative Assessment and Optimization
• Approved the Statement on Post-Dural Puncture Headache Management

These updated documents (in addition to all ASA documents) can be found on the ASA website.

The PSA also held a luncheon for all members in attendance at the ASA. It was great to see all of you who were able to attend!

PSA Resident Component Leadership

I’m pleased to announce that the following residents have been elected to PSA Resident Component leadership positions:

• President: Bharath Chithrala, DO – AHN
• President-Elect: Clarke Stoltzfus, MD – Penn State
• Secretary: Julianna O’Toole, DO – AHN

We are excited to work with these residents and mentor them into the next leaders of the profession.

As always, please send any feedback or concerns that we may be able to help with. We are here working for you!

Adam Childers, MD, FASA, FCPP

Save the Date: PSA Annual Business Meeting

April 3, 2027 | Hershey

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