Montefiore Einstein General Anesthesiology

We provide a seamless, personalized care experience that begins in your surgeon’s office, continues through the operating room and extends well beyond recovery. An important focus is helping our patients with anxiety prior to surgery. In collaboration with Montefiore Einstein Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, we offer preoperative sessions with our psychologists to talk about surgery and related anxiety. On the day of surgery, we offer meditation-assisted help with anxiety reduction. Our dedicated team of specialists ensures that every patient receives expert guidance throughout their care, delivering optimal outcomes and setting the standard for excellence in patient-centered care.

We offer access to the latest and most advanced anesthesiology techniques and technologies to help improve patient safety and provide the highest quality of care for our patients. We utilize artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and analytics, developed by our Digital Health Lab for risk prediction and developing care plans. We use advanced airway management technologies, the latest automation, and perioperative clinical monitoring, including depth of anesthesia monitoring and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring.

Our Digital Health Laboratory is at the heart of our Department’s clinical and observational research efforts, continually advancing the field of general anesthesiology. Through interdisciplinary collaborations with physicians across Montefiore Einstein and other academic institutions, we leverage our digital health database and sophisticated analyses of highly granular pharmacophysiological patient data from more than one million patients. This research informs decisions in clinical operations, education and quality improvement, continually elevating patient care.

Our Digital Health Laboratory has conducted the largest observational study analyzing the association between postoperative oral anticoagulation drugs, new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) and the impact on postoperative ischemic stroke after non-cardiac surgery. We developed and implemented a clinical informatics-based bundle intervention that aims to reduce same-day case cancellations and associated costs in patients scheduled for ambulatory otorhinolaryngology surgery. We also created a never-before-used automated prediction tool using machine learning to help determine which patients are at high risk for case cancellation.

Montefiore Einstein General Anesthesiology has built education into our daily practice. Our renowned faculty encourages a culture of collaboration, curiosity and continuous learning, emphasizing the highest quality patient care, academic contribution and service. On their General Anesthesiology rotation, residents gain expertise in perioperative management of patients undergoing both inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and learn advanced airway management techniques for high-risk patients. We continuously endeavor to cultivate a learning environment that prepares our residents to become leaders in perioperative care and patient safety.

Among our numerous fellowship programs, our collaborative Advanced Airway/Otorhinolaryngology Fellowship—managed by our General Anesthesiology faculty—is the only one of its kind on the East Coast. This unique, multidisciplinary program prepares our fellows to become airway experts and leaders in the field.

Our general anesthesiologists collaborate with other subspecialties and across disciplines to continuously elevate the level of patient-centered care through several quality improvement initiatives. For example, we are currently conducting a perioperative quality improvement initiative to reduce anxiety among patients directly before surgery. We also initiated a series of workshops conducted by the Difficult Airway Response Team (DART) for all anesthesia providers and trainees to increase their confidence in performing emergency front-of-neck access (eFONA) procedures (also known as cricothyroidotomies). These procedures are lifesaving for patients who have complex anatomy or pathology that makes it challenging to safely access the airway.

We are also focused on quality improvement projects to ensure our patients with upcoming surgeries are well-prepared for their procedures. We have designed a system to identify patients with the highest risk of canceling their surgeries to ensure our community receives the necessary interventions on schedule and to facilitate the highest level of patient safety.