Nurses can provide anesthesia, CO court rules

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that advanced-practice nurses can administer anesthesia without a doctor's supervision, a ruling the prompted a warning by doctors that patients could suffer serious medical complications and receive inadequate care. The court ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists and the Colorado Medical Society seeking to stop the change. Hospitals said the move was necessary because there aren't enough doctors, and the crisis will only get worse as the country adapts to new healthcare laws that open the doors to millions of new patients.