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Sleep Study Network

March 5th, 2010 by Jerusha Michael

Poor quality of sleep tends to accompany common illnesses, and life stressors (including family and social structure changes); patients tend to visit their primary care physician (PCP) who has knowledge of these factors that are related with their sleep problems. Symptoms and complaints associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea are often expressed at a higher frequency in the primary care practice setting.

Patients often go to a sleep lab for OSA diagnosis & evaluation. On many instances, the primary care physician looses direct contact with his/her patient’s sleep condition and overall care path. An alternative to sending patients to a sleep lab test is to begin the diagnosis and management process within the primary care setting, by utilizing newer technology that makes sleep diagnosis portable and more readily accessible.

CleveMed’s sleep study network connects the primary care physician to sleep technologists, and board certified sleep physicians, so that the primary doc is able to be involved in the patient’s continuum of care. Here’s how:

  • The PCP interviews the patient about his sleep health and medical history.
  • The nurse gives the SleepView (home sleep testing) kit to the patient with easy instructions on how to use the SleepView.
  • The self-administered sleep apnea test is completed with ease in the patient’s own bed. The patient returns the SleepView kit to the doctor’s office upon completion of the home sleep test.
  • The office staff uploads the sleep study data from the SleepView to CleveMed. The sleep data is scored by sleep technicians at CleveMed, and a board certified sleep physician interprets the study. The PCP is notified when a report is ready.
  • Finally, follow-up discussions are held with the patient to evaluate their therapy every three months or as needed.

    • This way, the PCP can maintain management of his/her patients’ sleep apnea and associated conditions.

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    This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Sleep Disorders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    4 Responses to “Sleep Study Network”

    1. Ilya Gotfryd Says:
      March 15th, 2010 at 9:12 am

      I think this is simple and significant enough to be worthy of Popular Mechanics or some other popular magazine like that.

    2. Bob Says:
      March 15th, 2010 at 9:13 am

      When Frost & Sullivan (the world leader in growth consulting and the integrated areas of technology research, market research, economic research, corporate best practices, training, customer research, competitive intelligence, and corporate strategy) did a market survey on sleep apnea diagnosis, they commented on this health care delivery model of tying the primary care physician (PCP) together with a board certified sleep physician by using low cost home testing equipment with internet transfer of data and reports. Their comments included: “Great Business Model,” “Awsome Model,” and that “Strategies focused around that model would be very beneficial.”

    3. Carole Says:
      March 15th, 2010 at 9:14 am

      Very clear and concise…it’s so simple, all PCP’s should be engaging in this new technology.

    4. Brenton Fults Says:
      May 17th, 2010 at 7:58 am

      Normally I wouldn’t comment on posts but I felt that I had to as your writing style is really good. You’ve broken down a hard area so that it easy to understand. I consider that you would enjoy reading what another good blogger has to say on the subject.

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