At its 2025 interim meeting, the AMA House of Delegates adopted a new policy, originally submitted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), on the clinical importance of sleepiness, as was outlined in the AASM’s recent position statement.
This policy resolves that the AMA support the evaluation and management of sleepiness using validated tools as a vital component of routine clinical services and support initiatives that strengthen the clinical assessment of sleepiness and improve pathways to treatment. This paves the way for the entire medical community, including other specialties, primary care, and insurers, to recognize the significance of sleepiness as an important clinical outcome for patient safety and patient-centered care.
AASM delegates garnered support for the policy within caucus meetings and provided testimony in both online and in-person reference committee meetings to advocate for a recommendation of adoption. Ultimately, the reference committee recommended that the policy be adopted as amended with clarifications regarding the intent of the policy; the AMA House of Delegates approved the recommendation thus adopting this new AMA policy.
AMA Representation Relies on Membership
The AMA is the largest physician organization in the United States, and the AASM was admitted to the AMA House of Delegates in 1996. The approval of this policy highlights the importance of continued AASM participation in the AMA House of Delegates. Advocacy by the AASM and our delegates has resulted in the passage of positive policy that raises the profile of sleep medicine and highlights the importance of sleep to overall health, as well as preventing the passage of resolutions in the past that would have had a negative impact on AASM members and the field of sleep medicine.
Having representation in the AMA House of Delegates also enables the AASM to have advisory seats for the AMA Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel and the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). These seats enable the AASM to represent the interests and needs of sleep specialists in updating and maintaining billing codes for the sleep field. This advisory role also enables the AASM to be involved in providing recommended relative value units for physician services to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
None of these opportunities would be possible without the support of AASM members. AMA representation is dependent upon the dual membership of physicians in the AASM and AMA. We urge our physician members to become a member of the AMA to ensure sleep medicine continues to be represented in the AMA. Help us to positively impact the field of medicine through your AMA membership.
