Telemedicine

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is committed to advancing the adoption of telemedicine in the sleep field to improve access to high quality, patient-centered care. Sleep telemedicine services have the capability to revolutionize sleep care, enabling you to provide care for patients previously out of reach.

Patient Evaluation Templates

The AASM is developing patient evaluation templates that can be incorporated in telemedicine platforms and electronic health records (EHRs). Use the links below to download the templates.

• Adult Comprehensive Sleep Evaluation

Codes

Get more information on the telemedicine codes page in the coding and reimbursement section of the website. Send your coding question to coding@aasm.org.

FAQs

The AASM has developed these telemedicine FAQs to address common questions regarding synchronous telemedicine/virtual visits.

Video Library

The telemedicine video library will help equip you to integrate telemedicine in your sleep practice. Learn from the expertise of sleep medicine clinicians who share tips and instructions on how to use telemedicine to provide high quality care for patients who have problems with sleep and daytime alertness.

Telemedicine Position Paper Update | Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Disorders

The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread use of telemedicine and highlighted its importance in improving access to sleep care and advocating for sleep health. Published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2021, this AASM update, “The use of telemedicine for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders,” incorporates the lessons learned from such widespread utilization of telehealth to build on the AASM’s 2015 Position Paper for the Use of Telemedicine. Important key factors in this update include an emphasis on quality and value, privacy and safety, health advocacy through sleep telemedicine, and future directions.

Talking Sleep Podcast

An episode of the Talking Sleep podcast featured Dr. Barry Fields, a sleep physician at the Atlanta VA Health System and member of the AASM Telemedicine Presidential Committee. He shares AASM telemedicine resources and offers guidance on how to make the most of telemedicine in the clinic and the classroom.

AASM SleepTM

The AASM invested in the development of a platform for providers and facilities to seamlessly integrate sleep telemedicine into a practice. AASM SleepTM was created for sleep medicine care to facilitate virtual visits, with additional tools that help providers and patients monitor and track sleep patterns. To learn more about this secure, HIPAA-compliant technology, visit sleeptm.com or call AASM SleepTM at 1-888-334-6820.

Telehealth.HHS.gov

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers telemedicine information for patients and providers. The providers section includes information on topics such as getting started, billing and reimbursement, and legal considerations. Learn more at telehealth.hhs.gov.

Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact offers a new, voluntary, expedited pathway to licensure for qualified physicians who wish to practice in multiple states. The IMLC mission is to increase access to health care for patients in underserved or rural areas, allowing them to more easily connect with medical experts through the use of telemedicine technologies. Learn more at imlcc.org.

Center for Connected Health Policy

CCHP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to maximize teleheath’s ability to improve health outcomes, care delivery and cost effectiveness. Learn more at cchpca.org.

• COVID-19 telehealth coverage policies
• COVID-19 related state actions
• Current state laws and reimbursement policies
• Legislation and regulation tracking

Telemedicine Case Studies

The following sleep telemedicine case studies are examples of how sleep clinicians have implemented this method into their practices in order to expand access to care for patients and increase the efficiency of their practice. Although these are based on real scenarios, no actual patient information is included.

• Growing a Rural Sleep Clinic through Telemedicine (September 2015)
• Telemedicine for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (September 2015)