The adjacent possible: Rural anesthesia

Recently, Menezes and Zahalka commented on the shortage of anesthesia providers across the United States. With broad strokes, they explore various perspectives of the issue, from the limitations in training positions to the continued growth in demand for surgery. Although rural health care systems face unprecedented challenges, rural residents deserve perioperative care managed by anesthesiologists at the systems level. Physicians, hospital administrators, and health care regulators need to lead the way by exploring different staffing models, lobbying for new legislation that ensures the safety of the most complex patients. And perhaps, by understanding how we can build a different system in the rural setting, we can better health care for American citizens.