The development of anesthesia guidelines and standards.

Anesthesiology is considered a leading specialty with respect to medical risk management and patient safety. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) developed its first practice guidelines in 1968 and published its first set of stricter practice standards in 1986. The standards are detailed specifications for the minute-to-minute conduct of anesthesia practice. An impetus for ASA standards development has been the belief that physicians should develop their own standards rather than have them imposed by nonphysician third parties.