Traditionally, patients are admitted to a hospital or day surgery centre for surgical procedures under general anaesthesia, even if the procedures are minor. In recent years, there is a trend for more procedures to be performed under general anaesthesia in dentists’ and doctors’ offices instead of the hospital setting. There are many advantages to this new model of care - personal attention, improved service and aftercare, ease of scheduling, greater privacy, lower cost, increased efficiency, decreased hospital-acquired infection and consistency of nursing personnel. Office based surgery, along with office based anaesthesia, is one of the fastest growing medical industries in the USA.

With advances in modern medicine, it is now possible to safely perform a wider range of procedures in a dentist or doctor’s office under general anaesthesia. For example, dentists are able to safely perform multiple-tooth extractions, dental implants, amongst other procedures.

Administering general anaesthesia in a doctor’s office is a rapidly expanding field. In the USA, there were in excess of 10 million elective office based surgeries performed in 2005, accounting for approximately 20% of all elective day surgery. This number is expanding rapidly due to the lower cost, convenience, and the associated advantages. Australia is beginning to embrace the benefits of this practice.

Office Based Anaesthesia Solutions (OBAS) Pty Ltd is an Australian company established and run by a team of highly experienced specialist anaesthetists, whose mission is to bring the benefits of office based surgery and anaesthesia to the Australian community.
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