Treatment adherence is better when care is provided by sleep specialists and accredited sleep centers
A new study of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) found that treatment outcomes were better when patients received care from sleep specialists and accredited sleep centers.
Results show that sleep apnea patients who received care from board certified sleep medicine physicians and accredited sleep centers were two times more likely to be adherent to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy than those who received care from non-accredited centers and non-certified physicians. Patient satisfaction also was associated with physician certification, and timeliness of care was better at accredited centers.
“We have demonstrated under real-world conditions that sleep center accreditation and sleep medicine board certification are important determinants of patient-centered quality metrics such as adherence to PAP therapy, patient satisfaction, patient education and timeliness of care delivery,†said lead author and principal investigator Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, associate professor of medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. “These results suggest that health policy decisions should be directed toward care pathways involving accredited facilities and board-certified physicians.â€
The study results appear in the March 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, which is published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.