Benefits of Receiving Care at AASM-Accredited Sleep Centers

Two studies being presented as poster presentations today at SLEEP 2008 describe benefits of receiving medical care from American Academy of Sleep Medicine-accredited sleep centers and from board certified sleep specialists.

One ongoing study (ID# 1069) of 243 patients at four participating sleep centers found that patients cared for by AASM-accredited centers and board-certified physicians received better education than patients cared for by non-accredited centers and non-certified physicians.

One-hundred percent of study subjects at AASM-accredited centers reported receiving adequate education about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). At non-accredited sites, 83.5 percent of study subjects reported receiving adequate education about OSA.

AASM Standards for Accreditation require that accredited sleep centers have on staff at least one board-certified sleep specialist. Initial results of this study were published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2006.

Another study (ID# 1073) of 55 patients shows that access to specialized services with close follow up in an AASM-accredited sleep center can make a significant difference in treatment success. Each of the patients had a high risk of failure to comply with continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) for OSA. Sixty-one percent of the patients became compliant and were followed up for six months.