In August, the Medical Board of California (Board) issued proposed regulations outlining the educational and training requirements a sleep technologist must complete to obtain the designation of “certified polysomnographic technologist” by the Board. The regulations execute Senate Bill 132 (SB 132) which was signed into law on October 23, 2009.

The New Hampshire Respiratory Care Practice Act contains statutory language which allows the state Respiratory Care Board (“Board”) to have “the authority” to adopt rules specifying the scope of practice for registered polysomnographic technologists.” This past September, the Board issued proposed regulatory language outlining the scope of practice for sleep technologists, and detailing the educational and training requirements a sleep technologist needs to complete to obtain a license.

In June, the Tennessee Board of Respiratory Care (TBRC) issued an emergency regulation outlining the specific requirements a respiratory therapist must complete to perform sleep care services pursuant to the Tennessee Polysomnography Practice Act.

 The purpose of the proposal was to develop regulatory language which would allow unlicensed individuals to practice certain areas of “respiratory care” within a sleep lab.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently announced two new funding opportunities for 2011. The Patient Safety and Medical Liability Reform Demonstration Projects (PAR-11-025) and the Patient Safety and Medical Liability Reform Planning Projects (PAR-11-023) support demonstration grants and planning grants that focus on: putting patient safety first and working to reduce preventable injuries; fostering better communication between doctors and their patients; ensuring that patients are compensated in a fair and timely manner for medical injuries, while also reducing the incidence of frivolous lawsuits; and reducing liability premiums. Standard application dates apply; the expiration date for both opportunities is Jan. 8, 2014.

On Nov. 30, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation, the “Red Flag Clarification Act of 2010” (S. 3827) by unanimous consent. The House passed the measure Dec. 7, and it has been sent to the President for approval.

Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) reached a tentative consensus to stave off the proposed cuts to payments physicians receive for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

On Thursday the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled Healthy People 2020, the nation’s new 10-year goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention.

The Act extends the current conversion factor through Dec. 31, 2010, and delays a cut in reimbursement for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries that was scheduled for December 1. The Act now goes to the White House, and it is expected President Obama will sign the bill.