Earn CME credit online: August issue of SLEEP
The August issue of the journal SLEEP is available online, and AASM members have access to the full text of each article when you log in on the website. Studies designated for CME credit in the August issue are: "Nighttime insomnia symptoms and perceived health in America Insomnia Survey (AIS)" and "Pregnant women with gestational hypertension may have a high frequency of sleep disordered breathing."
Registration is open for new one-day workshop on developing a compliance program
The AASM has developed a one-day Compliance Program Development Workshop, to be held Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, at the AASM national office in Darien, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). The workshop will give attendees the guidance needed to perform an audit of their facility's billing practices and will provide tools on the development of a compliance program for their facility.
HypnoGram: My first board meeting as president
Welcome back to my latest HypnoGram following a short hiatus while preparing for my first official AASM board of directors meeting as the president. We met in “the big apple,” which would have better been described as “the baked apple” or “a warm apple tart” as the temperatures were in the 100s! But don’t worry, the board was huddled up in an air-conditioned hotel meeting room for the weekend so we were not exposed to that dreadful heat!
Deadline extension and eligibility clarification for the Sleep Technologist Registry Exam
The new American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) Sleep Technologist Registry Examination will be offered for the first time Nov. 11, 2011. Individuals who are interested in taking this inaugural exam now have additional time to submit an exam application before the deadline, which has been extended to Monday, Aug. 15, 2011. In response to questions about the eligibility criteria outlined in the Candidate Handbook for the exam, the ABSM also offers the following clarification.
AASM provides additional analysis of the CMS 2012 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
Last week the AASM announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had published the 2012 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule in the Federal Register; please note that this is the draft rule and is not final. If implemented, changes outlined in the proposed rule will significantly affect sleep physicians.
Science Weekly podcast focuses on the science of sleep and circadian rhythms
The science of sleep and circadian rhythms is the topic of this week’s Science Weekly podcast with Alok Jha, which is hosted on the website of The Guardian.
AHRQ reports that heart disease is the most costly medical condition in the U.S.
A statistical brief issued this month by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that heart disease and cancer ranked first and second as the most expensive medical conditions for both men and women in terms of overall health-care expenditures.
CDC analysis of state data shows that obesity rates remain high
Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that obesity has become a problem in every state; no state reported that less than 20 percent of adults were obese in 2010.
Study suggests that sedative hypnotic prescriptions may be overprescribed for insomnia
A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health examined the “medicalization” of sleeplessness. Results suggest that sleeplessness complaints and insomnia diagnoses increased over time; however, they were far outpaced by prescriptions for sedative hypnotics.
Aggressive behavior and bullying may be linked to sleep-disordered breathing in schoolchildren
A study in the August issue of Sleep Medicine found a potential link between sleep-disordered breathing and aggressive behavior and bullying in urban schoolchildren. Statistical analysis found that symptoms suggestive of sleep-disordered breathing were found more often in children with conduct problems, bullying, or discipline referrals.
NHLBI announces that it will no longer use the MERIT Award (R37) funding mechanism
Recently the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute announced (NOT-HL-11-153) that it is no longer making new awards using the Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37) funding mechanism.
HHS announces proposal to improve rules protecting human research subjects
Last week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the federal government is contemplating various ways of enhancing the regulations overseeing research on human subjects. The public comment period closes at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2011.
NICHD announces Pediatric Scientist Development Program
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) issued a funding opportunity announcement (RFA-HD-12-209) for the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (K12). The application due date is Nov. 22, 2011.
CDC releases infection prevention guide to promote safe outpatient care
Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the release of its “Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care.” The guide is based on existing, evidence-based CDC guidelines that apply to a wide range of health-care facilities but are mostly used by hospitals.
Advanced registration deadline extended to Aug. 15 for Worldsleep 2011 in Kyoto, Japan
Worldsleep 2011, the 6th Quadrennial Congress of the World Sleep Federation, will take place Oct. 16-20 at the Kyoto International Conference Center in Kyoto, Japan. The deadline for “early-bird” registration has been extended to Aug. 15, 2011.
AASM acknowledges July contributions to the ISR Testing Program
For the July ISR Testing Program, the AASM gratefully acknowledges Nihon Kohden America for contributing software, Sleep HealthCenters for providing sleep records, and Dr. Michelle Cao for serving as the second gold standard.
AASM Interpreting Sleep Studies course to be offered twice in 2011
On Oct. 23–24, 2011, and Oct. 25–26, 2011, the AASM will host an Interpreting Sleep Studies course at the AASM national office in Darien, IL (a suburb of Chicago). This course, chaired by Robert Basner, MD, will cover a variety of topics related to the interpretation of sleep studies including clinical signs, indications for testing, interpretation of tests and development of treatment plans.
Final days to save 20% on many of the AASM’s most popular products
Time is running out to take 20% off many of the AASM’s most popular products during our July sale on board review products. Sale items include the ICSD-2, Scoring Manual, Case Book, webinar archives and more.
Limited seats remain for the Oct. 30 Board Review Practice Exam course; Oct. 29 course is SOLD OUT
In preparation for the Nov. 10, 2011, sleep medicine board exam, the AASM has scheduled two live Board Review Practice Exam courses at the AASM national office in Darien, IL (a Chicago suburb). Each course is limited to 80 participants, and the Oct. 29 course is now SOLD OUT. Individuals interested in participating in this course are encouraged to register for the Oct. 30, 2011, course as soon as possible to reserve your space.
Washington Post reports on insurance coverage for the treatment of sleep disorders
Last week an article by The Washington Post and Kaiser Health News reported on the growth of sleep medicine and the broad availability of insurance coverage for the treatment of sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. The article noted that patients with sleep disorders now have access to specialized care from doctors who are trained in sleep medicine and who practice at more than 2,250 AASM-accredited sleep centers.
Wall Street Journal examines new drugs in development for insomnia
Earlier this week an article in the Wall Street Journal examined efforts by pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs for the treatment of insomnia. Rather than acting on many areas of the brain, these new drugs have specific targets such as orexin and serotonin receptors. The drug companies report that the compounds being developed will potentially have fewer side effects, be less addictive and interact less with alcohol than current medications used to treat insomnia.
NHLBI will no longer participate in the innovative research grant (R21) program
Last week the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) announced that it will no longer accept investigator-initiated, exploratory/developmental grant (R21) applications in response to the National Institutes of Health’s Parent Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), NIH Exploratory Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21).
Study funded by AHRQ finds that few primary care clinicians screen for OSA
Earlier this month the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported that a recent study funded by the AHRQ revealed that very few primary care clinicians (PCCs) routinely screen for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The study gathered information from 44 randomly selected practices in five regional, practice-based research networks.
The study found that only 10 of the 44 PCCs (23 percent) who were interviewed said that they routinely screen patients for OSA. Only 14 of the 45 PCCs could identify 25 patients in their practices with OSA despite using multiple methods and having three months to do so.
U.S. News and World Report names best hospitals for 2011-2012
Earlier this week U.S. News and World Report announced the results of its annual Best Hospitals evaluation. Of the nearly 5,000 hospitals that were evaluated for the 2011-2012 rankings, 17 qualified for a place on the Best Hospitals Honor Roll, which is reserved for medical centers that demonstrate unusually high expertise across multiple specialties by scoring at or near the top in at least six of 16 specialties. Heading the Honor Roll are Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass., and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
CMS to host an ICD-10 national provider call on Wednesday, Aug. 3
Is your office preparing for a smooth transition to ICD-10 on Oct. 1, 2013? To assist you in your preparation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is going to host a national provider call on "ICD-10 Implementation Strategies for Physicians" on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. CMS subject matter experts will discuss ways that physician offices can prepare for the change to ICD-10 for medical diagnosis and inpatient procedure coding. A question and answer session will follow the presentations.