Editorial by AASM leaders promotes expertise of board certified sleep specialists

The July issue of CHEST contains point/counterpoint editorials in response to the question, “Should board certification be required for sleep test interpretation?” An editorial by AASM past presidents Samuel Fleishman, MD, and Nancy Collop, MD, and director Amy Aronsky, DO, argues that board-certified sleep medicine physicians are uniquely qualified to provide the most reliable interpretation of diagnostic tests for sleep disorders and to establish an effective and longitudinal disease management plan for the patient. In a rebuttal to the counterpoint editorial, they also note that resident physicians in fellowship training programs outside the sleep medicine subspecialty receive only limited exposure to the pathophysiology of sleep disorders and the interpretation of polysomnographic data.

The July 3 issue of JAMA also includes a letter to the editor from Dr. Fleishman, who challenges the conclusions of a recent study comparing management models of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  The letter emphasizes that AASM accreditation and board certification in sleep medicine are associated with improved patient care, and it stresses that the authors’ attempt to generalize the results of the Australian study to the U.S. is misleading