Enhancing healthcare delivery: the results of implementing mobile anesthesia teams at Romagna Local Health Authority, Italy

Healthcare systems face challenges including physician shortages and the need for cost-effective, accessible services. This study aimed to describe the implementation of itinerant anesthesiologist teams to maintain surgical activities within the Romagna Local Health Authority (AUSL Romagna), Italy. Itinerant anesthesiologist teams were implemented at AUSL Romagna from February 2021 to December 2022. Data on surgical waiting lists and activities from before and after the implementation were collected using administrative regional data. Additionally, we conducted a satisfaction survey among participating anesthesiologists. Descriptive statistics were used to compare pre- and post-implementation metrics and to report participants’ satisfaction. The project enabled 2034 h of surgical activity in 2021 and 3354 in 2022 across specialties including neurosurgery, breast surgery, interventional cardiology, and pediatric surgery. By 2022, surgical waiting times returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Survey results from 32 participating anesthesiologists (48.5%) indicated high satisfaction with the program. The implementation of itinerant anesthesiology teams in the AUSL Romagna health system shows promise as a potential solution for improving care delivery and reducing waiting times. However, further research is needed to definitively establish its effectiveness and generalizability to other healthcare settings.