|
HOME
CARE PARTNERS
 |
|
Why
Partner with Sleep Data for Your Diagnostic Needs?
Sleep Data's diagnostic protocols are a perfect solution
for homecare providers who currently offer a broad range of
respiratory services including nasal continuous
positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. As a market leader
in the diagnosis of obstructive
sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), we provide innovative solutions
to a severely under-diagnosed population. Since we diagnose
sleep apnea rather than treat it, we are in a unique position
to effectively partner with homecare companies so as to leverage
our respective strengths. This can provide you with a more
comprehensive sleep program and thus enhance your position
in the marketplace. We provide a timely diagnosis with excellent
sensitivity and specificity at a fraction of the cost (1).
As healthcare changes and cost savings concerns increase,
homecare companies often look for additional ways to provide
comprehensive services to physicians and medical insurers.
In your dealings with insurance companies, HMOs, or medical
groups, your partnership with Sleep Data can allow you to
seamlessly expand your range of offered services.
|
| How
We Interact with Home Care Partners |
Sleep
Data currently partners with some of the nation's largest homecare
companies. When you receive a referral and the insurance is
verified, the order is then faxed to Sleep Data. We contact
the patient, schedule the study, deliver and pick up the recorder
from their home or office, and fax final results to you and
the referring physician. Patient support is available twenty-four
hours a day to answer questions concerning the sleep study.
Obtaining quality data is a high priority and is achieved more
than 97% of the time. Should a study be technically inadequate
or a patient simply not sleep well, we repeat the study at no
charge. Homecare companies often find themselves burdened with
monitoring patient compliance, and insurance companies frequently
request outcome studies to judge the economic and clinical success
of treating OSAS. Sleep Data can administer a follow-up CPAP
compliance questionnaire to help address these concerns when
appropriate.
|
The sleep
study interpretation includes a recommended CPAP pressure generated
from published regression
equations. The equations consider the patient's physiologic
data and disease severity. The scientific literature suggests
that the vast majority of CPAP patients can have their pressures
accurately determined by these equations (2). Once a homecare
company has initiated therapy, the physician can be rapidly
informed of their patient's progress through post-treatment
follow-up reports generated by Sleep Data. We work with homecare
partners to enhance patient compliance by using university trained
respiratory personnel to conduct patient compliance follow-ups
at scheduled intervals. While the homecare industry average
for patient CPAP compliance has been estimated to be as low
as 40-50%, follow-up with the patient at this critical stage
can significantly improve this figure. |
| Our
Comprehensive Report Includes: |
Calculation
of respiratory disturbance index
(RDI) and autonomic arousal
index
Oxygen
saturations, heart rate, snoring and body position
Study
description
The patient's
sleep history and sleep
hygiene
Patient's
daily medications
Post
sleep study report
Our pulmonary
physician's clinical interpretation and recommendations
CPAP
or Bi-Level recommendations based upon published regression
equations
|
Validity
of Home Studies
Traditional sleep laboratories can be costly, inconvenient,
and have scheduling backlogs. Few patients look forward to spending
time away from home to assess possible OSAS. Administered in
a patient's own bed, the testing data have often been found
to more closely reflect reality. We have performed thousands
of studies in all fifty states. Our portable recording system
is the most highly validated
and accurately measures the necessary physiological parameters
to diagnose OSAS as determined by the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine. The data
include heart rate, respiratory effort, nasal-oral airflow,
oxygen saturation, body position, and snoring intensity and
frequency. Sleep Data's rapid turn-around time for patient testing
allows the patient's physician to begin appropriate treatment
quickly when indicated. home-based sleep testing is now widely
accepted in the medical and scientific communities. Veterans
Affairs Hospitals, University of California Medical Centers,
and Kaiser Permanente Hospitals across the country are utilizing
home-based testing. Research has shown that a typical sleep
apnea patient can be diagnosed and treated entirely outside
the polysomnography laboratory. Many insurance carriers often
pay for unnecessary and expensive testing. Home-based sleep
testing is a viable tool for reducing overall costs (3).
|
Importance
of Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) affects an estimated
20 million Americans and is associated with chronic diseases
such as obesity, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, sexual
dysfunction, and depression. Sleep fragmentation, which results
from OSAS can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, headaches,
memory loss, difficulty concentrating, loss of productivity
and accidents.
It has
been estimated that OSAS remains undiagnosed in 82% of men
and 93% of women with the condition (4). The costs to the
healthcare system of undiagnosed and untreated OSAS are profound.
Effectively diagnosing and treating patients, rather than
dealing with the consequences of this chronic disease reduces
overall healthcare costs (5,6).
Until
medical providers learn to recognize and respond to the seriousness
of sleep disorders, the consequences of undiagnosed and untreated
sleep apnea will continue to be devastating.
|
|
Learn
more about sleep apnea syndrome.
(back
to top)
References
1. Emsellem HA, Corson WA, Rappaport
BA, Hackett S, Smith LG, Hausfeld JN. Verification of sleep
apnea using a portable sleep apnea screening device. South
Med J. 1990;83:748-52.
2.
Miljeteig H, Hoffstein V. Determinants of continuous positive
airway pressure level for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.
Am Rev Respir Dis. 1993;147:1526-30.
3. Parra O, Garcia-Esclasans N, Montserrat JM, Garcia Eroles
L, Ruiz J, Lopez JA, Guerra JM, Sopena JJ. Should patients
with sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome be diagnosed and managed
on the basis of home sleep studies? Eur Respir J, 1997;10:1720-24.
4. Young T, Evans L, Finn L, Palta M. Estimation of the clinically
diagnosed proportion of sleep apnea syndrome in middle-aged
men and women. Sleep. 1997;20:705-6.
5. Kryger MH, Roos L, Delaive K, Walld R, Horrocks J. Utilization
of healthcare services in patients with severe obstructive
sleep apnea. Sleep. 1996;19(9 supplement):S111-6.
6. Peker, Hedner, Johannsson, Bende. Reduced hospitalization
with cardiovascular and pulmonary disease in obstructive sleep
apnea patients on nasal CPAP treatment. Sleep. 1997; 20(8):645-53.
|
|
