Sedation in gastroenterology is undergoing a subtle but significant shift—from routine moderate sedation to increasing reliance on monitored anesthesia care (MAC).
What appears on the surface as a convenience-driven trend—patient comfort and faster throughput—is actually rooted in changing patient physiology and behavior.
Today’s GI patients are different:
- Higher rates of anxiety and antidepressant use
- Increased alcohol consumption and substance exposure
- More complex neurochemical profiles affecting drug response
The result?
👉 A growing subset of patients who are less responsive to traditional sedation protocols
This has pushed GI to become the largest consumer of outpatient anesthesia services in the U.S., placing additional strain on an already constrained anesthesia workforce.