Leadership & Management Episodes

Anesthesia coverage is now the single most cited financial headache for surgery center leaders in the country, and MD-only care is disappearing fast: QZ billing is up 15%, team-based coverage is up 30%, and CRNA-involved cases have nearly doubled in Florida over 14 years. Joe Rodriguez sits down with Randy Moore, Chief CRNA and Chief Strategy Officer at North Star Anesthesia, and first-time guest Andrew Woodmancey, founder and managing partner of Anesthesia Operations Consultants, a mid-sized consulting firm based in Florida, to break down what's actually driving these numbers. They don't agree on all of it. The conversation opens with a new VMG Health survey on where anesthesia subsidies are headed in 2026, then moves into the billing data behind the shift away from MD-only care. Andrew, brought on as the non-clinical voice in the room, argues the real economic problem is reimbursement and industry infighting, not scope-of-practice fights. Joe pushes further, arguing that cr…

Six days before a federal rule was set to take effect, the courts stepped in. The Department of Education tried to redefine who counts as a professional, a move that would have capped student loans for nurse anesthetists and the advanced-practice clinicians training behind them. The courts said the challenge is likely to succeed and hit pause. This week I sat down with Tracy Young, twenty-six years in the field, and Randy Moore, who runs anesthesia at enterprise scale, to work through what the ruling actually means and what it does not. It is a win in a battle, not the war. We get into the argument a federal regulator made that landed harder than we wanted to admit, why a rule written to require supervision is now being used against us, and where the line sits between what government should decide and what the people doing the work should. Plus the student-loan fight both parties get half-right, and why credentials stopped predicting who can lead. Good information first. Then…

The FTC just notched its second win against the biggest roll-up in anesthesia history. Welsh Carson settled first. Now USAP. So who actually won, and who pays next? Joe Rodriguez sits down with Randy Moore and Gary Keeling for the kind of conversation that usually happens at the bar after the conference, not on the record. No "where did you go to school" warm-ups. Just three operators reading the headlines everyone else is misreading. Gary drops the frame that defines the episode: this is two Goliaths at war. Private equity built 70 percent market share with borrowed money. Insurers answered with the No Surprises Act and rate cuts. Now IDR is swinging back, hospitals are eating the shortfall through subsidies, and the FTC just stepped into the ring. Anesthesia providers are standing in the middle of all of it. Then the gloves come off on the anesthesiologist assistant fight. Sixty bills in thirty years. Gary says there's enough work for everybody and braces for the hate mail.…

In this powerful and unfiltered episode, Dr. Joseph Rodriguez — CRNA, former state and national leader, faculty member, and host of Anesthesia Deconstructed — takes us inside the real lessons of anesthesia leadership. From COVID-era disruption to contract losses, difficult boardroom conversations, and the relentless financial pressures of today’s anesthesia market, Joe shares stories that few leaders are willing to tell. Each story carries a hard-won lesson: why leadership is never just a title...

In this candid and wide-ranging episode, we sit down with Bill Bruce — CEO of the AANA, representing over 65,000 CRNAs and SRNAs nationwide — to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to lead the profession’s largest and most influential organization. From balancing the competing demands of members, boards, and limited resources, to navigating constant political, clinical, and industry noise, Bill explains how the CEO’s role is equal parts strategist, mediator, and pressure point. We exp...

Anesthesia is evolving — and so are its leaders. In this special episode of Anesthesia Deconstructed, we dive into the dynamic shifts happening across the anesthesia landscape, where Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and anesthesiologists are stepping into new leadership roles across clinical, operational, and educational domains. Our expert panel — including leaders from Norstar Anesthesia, Rutgers University, Sound Physicians, Guide Anesthesia, and BPI Anesthesia — explores what...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Joe Rodriguez talks with Ali Baghai about his journey and impact as a CRNA in Arizona. Ali shares his experiences in CRNA advocacy, the evolution of anesthesia practice in Arizona, and his role in significant legislative changes. They also discuss the nuances of owning an anesthesia business and life in Arizona. Highlights: Introduction Joe Rodriguez introduces the episode and welcomes Ali Baghai. Brief discussion about the uniqueness of Ali's name and CRNA ...

Episode Date: Monday, June 3rd Welcome to Anesthesia Deconstructed! In this episode, we cover: Segment 1: Pre-CRNA Market Update Impact of late-stage capitalism on mentorship and professional development.Feedback from current nurse anesthesia residents/students.Questioning “Guaranteed Success” and the high cost of prep programs.Segment 2: Key Legal Updates South Carolina and Maryland Associations’ successes in preventing restrictive rules.TANA’s loss of the term “anesthesiology.”DC’s HORA Act...

Meet Annemarie Wiley CRNA! When you think about reality tv and especially the Real Housewives franchise, you probably do not think about adopted small town Canadian girls of Nigerian/Dutch descent raised by a single mom. Well, not only is that Annemarie, but she is also an athlete, became an RN, worked in Canada and then the U.S. and eventually became a Nurse Anesthesiologist (CRNA)! She is eloquent, intelligent, gregarious and very proud of her chosen profession, Nurse Anesthesiology!...

Few CRNAs are as well-known as our co-host, Mike MacKinnon, and at times, he’s not been an uncontroversial leader – he’s been on the cutting edge. Leading off our “5 Questions” Series – we hear from Mike on being criticized as “anti-physician”, on what he’s learned as a leader of the past 10 years, and how he keeps a sustainable edge to remain a high-performance professional for so long. Send us Fan Mail Follow us at: Instagram Facebook Twitter/X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Meet the former AANA CEO and now Chief Anesthetist Officer of Northstar Anesthesia Dr. Randall Moore DNP, MBA, CRNA. We talk about ALL the things in this 3 part interview! Topics range from anesthesia reimbursement, the impact of the pandemic, the difficulty recruiting, why he left the AANA, culture, what his new role entails at Northstar, and what it takes to build a functional anesthesia team! There is an incredible amount of information packed into this 3 part interview from a leader in one ...

Meet the former AANA CEO and now Chief Anesthetist Officer of Northstar Anesthesia Dr. Randall Moore DNP, MBA, CRNA. We talk about ALL the things in this 3 part interview! Topics range from anesthesia reimbursement, the impact of the pandemic, the difficulty recruiting, why he left the AANA, culture, what his new role entails at Northstar, and what it takes to build a functional anesthesia team! There is an incredible amount of information packed into this 3 part interview from a leader in one ...

Meet the former AANA CEO and now Chief Anesthetist Officer of Northstar Anesthesia Dr. Randall Moore DNP, MBA, CRNA. We talk about ALL the things in this 3 part interview! Topics range from anesthesia reimbursement, the impact of the pandemic, the difficulty recruiting, why he left the AANA, culture, what his new role entails at Northstar, and what it takes to build a functional anesthesia team! There is an incredible amount of information packed into this 3 part interview from a leader in one ...