Ophthalmologists’ Perspectives on Cataract Surgery Sedation: A National Survey Study

DESCRIPTIVE ABSTRACT: In this national survey assessing US cataract surgery sedation practices, among 659 of 3,406 (19.3%) respondents, 578 (87.7%) routinely performed cataract surgery with anesthesia care. For sedation, 534 (81.0%) routinely used light-to-moderate IV sedation; 69 (10.5%) routinely used oral or no additional sedation. Forty-two (6.4%) performed cataract surgery in office-based surgery (OBS) suites. For future consideration of OBS, 76.0% (n=501), 76.0% (n=501) and 77.2% (n=509) indicated it was "moderately" or "very important" for Medicare to establish physician payment policies for OBS; to maintain access to ambulatory surgery center or hospital outpatient department privileges for complex cases; and for Medicare to continue allowing anesthesia services in the office when needed, respectively. Ophthalmologists nationwide rely heavily on anesthesia care for cataract surgery sedation. With appropriate training and favorable Medicare policies to make OBS financially viable and safe, ophthalmologists may be willing to assume additional, selected sedation roles traditionally performed by anesthesia teams.