Senate confirms Azar as new HHS secretary
On Jan. 24, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar, was confirmed by a 55-43 vote in the U.S. Senate. Azar is an HHS veteran who served during the [...]
Register for free NIH Clinical Trials Policies webinar
On Thursday, Feb. 1, the Sleep Research Society (SRS) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) are hosting a free webinar, NIH Clinical Trials Policies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has made changes to its clinical trials [...]
Register now for SLEEP 2018 in Baltimore
Registration is now open for SLEEP 2018, the 32nd annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), which will be held on June 2-6, 2018, at the Baltimore Convention Center. Last year’s meeting was attended by nearly [...]
AMA and national stakeholders release consensus statement on prior authorization
On Jan. 18 the American Medical Association (AMA) released a Consensus Statement on Improving the Prior Authorization Process, together with the American Hospital Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, American Pharmacists Association, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and the [...]
MedPAC recommends that Congress eliminate MIPS
On Jan. 11 the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent congressional agency charged with advising Congress on issues affecting Medicare, voted 14-2 to recommend that Congress eliminate the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). MIPS was established through the [...]
Bright light therapy improves sleep in people treated for cancer
DARIEN, IL – Results of a randomized controlled trial suggest that systematic bright light exposure can improve sleep for fatigued people who have been treated for cancer. The pilot study results show that mean sleep efficiency, the percentage of [...]
AASM invites you to join the American Alliance for Healthy Sleep
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is excited to announce the formation of a new patient-focused membership organization, the American Alliance for Healthy Sleep (AAHS)! The AASM formed the AAHS to bring sleep patients and providers together to advance [...]
New American Alliance for Healthy Sleep now recruiting members
DARIEN, IL – The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has formed a new patient-focused membership organization, the American Alliance for Healthy Sleep (AAHS), which is inviting both health care providers and patients with sleep disorders to become members. [...]
New guidelines are published for fatigue risk management in emergency medical services
New evidence-based guidelines in the journal Prehospital Emergency Care provide guidance to administrators of emergency medical services (EMS) on how to mitigate workplace fatigue. “Fatigue is widespread in EMS and is not isolated to one type of EMS operation [...]
Trump administration allows states to set Medicaid work requirements
On Jan. 11 the Trump White House released guidelines for a "community engagement initiative" that will allow states the opportunity to mandate work requirements for patients on Medicaid. In a letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [...]
CDC reports that unsafe infant sleep practices remain common in U.S.
A new analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that a high rate of unsafe infant sleep practices is reported by mothers in the U.S. For the report, “Vital Signs: Trends and Disparities in Infant [...]
AMA report touts economic and job growth created by physicians
On Jan. 8 the American Medical Association (AMA) released the report, "The National Economic Impact of Physicians," which highlights the positive effects that physicians have on state and federal economies, job growth, and wage increases. The report is the [...]
Jurisdiction J transition to Palmetto GBA results in new sleep facility accreditation requirement
Due to a recent transition in the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction J, sleep facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee need to ensure that they meet all coverage provisions outlined in Palmetto GBA LCD L36593: Polysomnography, including the [...]
Fitbit reveals results from analysis of 6 billion nights of sleep data
In a Yahoo Finance exclusive, a Fitbit data scientist and Fitbit’s lead sleep research scientist discussed findings from their analysis of data from 6 billion nights of its customers’ sleep. In March 2017 Fitbit launched a new Sleep [...]
New Year’s message from Dr. Rosen
Dear AASM members, As 2017 comes to a close, I’m impressed by the AASM’s accomplishments this year. My term as AASM president began with the highly successful SLEEP meeting in Boston this past June. Since then, we have welcomed [...]
Sleep medicine year in review: View 10 of the top headlines and highlights from 2017
The end of 2017 brings to a close an eventful year for the field of sleep medicine that included the introduction by the AASM of new clinical practice guidelines, position statements and papers; expedited accreditation; and a mobile app [...]
Read the 10 most-viewed sleep research papers published in JCSM in 2017
Sleep research articles published in the past year in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine captured the attention of the scientific and medical communities, as well as the media and the general public. The following sleep research papers [...]
Report suggests that pulmonologists, psychiatrists and neurologists are in short supply
In a new white paper, "Physician Supply Considerations: The Emerging Shortage of Medical Specialists," physician recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins Associates argues that specialists such as pulmonologists, psychiatrists and neurologists are in just as short supply as primary care physicians [...]
NIH seeks sleep and Alzheimer’s research project applications
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a funding opportunity announcement, “Sleep disorders and circadian clock disruption in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias of aging” (PAR-18-497). This FOA is aimed at [...]
Medicare Jurisdiction JJ transitions from Cahaba to Palmetto GBA in 2018
On Sept. 7, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) selected Palmetto GBA to replace Cahaba Government Benefit Administrators, LLC as the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction JJ, which includes Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The transition [...]
House, Senate GOP pass tax reform with substantial health care implications
On Dec. 20, Senate Republicans advanced the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), a bill that will cut taxes for the large majority of American individuals while also cutting corporate tax rates significantly from 35% to 21%. In [...]
Behavioral intervention improves sleep for hospitalized pregnant women
DARIEN, IL – A study shows that a hospital-based behavioral intervention protocol including components of sleep hygiene and cognitive behavioral therapy successfully improved sleep in women who were hospitalized for a high-risk pregnancy. Results show that women in the [...]
MedPAC proposes to repeal and replace MIPS
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a nonpartisan legislative branch agency that provides analysis and policy advice about Medicare to Congress, recently released a proposal to repeal and replace the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Members of MedPAC have [...]
PCORI funding announcement to focus on sleep disorder disparities
A notice of an upcoming funding announcement from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) indicates that it will include as a focus area, “Interventions to Reduce Disparities in Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Insomnia.” Applicants may submit Letters of Intent [...]
Report one measure for one patient and avoid a 4% MIPS penalty
The 2017 performance period for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), one of two tracks offered within the Quality Payment Program, is coming to an end. MIPS participants needed to have started reporting activities by Oct. 2, 2017, to [...]