Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist - General Information

A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is a registered nurse who has completed additional training in anesthesia. The Medicare Program recognizes separate payment for anesthesia services and related care services furnished by the CRNA. Anesthesia services provided by a CRNA are subject to the usual Part B coinsurance and deductible, and payment for CRNA services is made only on an assignment basis.

A CRNA provides anesthesia for a wide variety of surgical cases and is the sole anesthesia provider in most rural hospitals. The over 36,000 CRNAs in the U.S. work in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered including hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms, Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC), pain management units and the offices of dentists, podiatrists, and plastic surgeons.