Types of Accreditation Fact Sheet

Sleep Facility Accreditation

Sleep Facility Accreditation is offered to comprehensive sleep centers that have a both a clinic, where patient evaluation and management occurs, and a laboratory, where diagnostic testing is administered through in-center sleep testing and home sleep apnea testing (HSAT).

• New Sleep Facility Accreditation – New accreditation is available to any entity. Entities applying for new accreditation, who have been in operation less than 6 months, will receive an accreditation flag until the completion of the Final Verification Process. New accreditation is granted for five years from the date of approval by the AASM Accreditation Committee.
• Facility Reaccreditation – Every five years an accredited program must complete an application prior to the end of the accreditation term to achieve continued reaccreditation. Applications for reaccreditation can be opened 10 months prior to the accreditation expiration date and application is to be submitted no later than 6 months prior to the expiration date. An accreditation flag will be applied to an entity if approval for reaccreditation has not been achieved by their accreditation expiration date; an entity may not exceed 3 months past their accreditation expiration date.
• Special Circumstance Accreditation – A facility relocation, either a move to a new location or new physical space within the same location, requires an application indicating changes to existing licenses and policies that may be necessitated by the re-location to continue accreditation through the accreditation term.

Independent Sleep Practice (ISP)

Independent Sleep Practice Accreditation is available to sleep practices that manage patients with all sleep disorders and conduct HSAT, but do not have a sleep laboratory for in-center sleep studies. Independent Sleep Practice Accreditation is granted for five years from the date of approval by the Board of Directors.

Specialty Practice

Specialty Practice Accreditation is available non-sleep medical practices (e.g., cardiology practices) that manage its patients by screening for sleep apnea and performing home sleep apnea tests (HSATs). Treatment and management of the Specialty Practice patients sleep disorders is facilitated by a related AASM-accredited Sleep Facility.

Durable Medical Equipment (DME) (Non-Medicare)

DME suppliers that provide sleep-related DME equipment to patients are eligible for DME Accreditation. This includes both free-standing suppliers and sleep facilities that provide DME equipment to their patients.

Accreditation Network

Entities are able to share benefits between related accredited programs such as volume pricing, aligned expiration dates and site visit schedules and synchronization of data between applications. Visit the Accreditation Network webpage to learn more.