Wow, can you believe it is 2012?!! Now how long will it take you to date things correctly? I have already messed up three times! It promises to be a very exciting year – a national election, the Olympics, our biggest SLEEP annual meeting yet, the addition of the AASM’s 10,000th member, and who knows what else. One thing is for sure, it will be full of surprises.
Something that we expect to launch this year is an online version of the AASM scoring manual. The board of directors has approved a task force to head up this endeavor, and the staff is already working on making the manual a user-friendly, online resource. Dr. Rich Berry has agreed to head up the task force, and we will be adding task force members at our next board meeting. The new online version of the manual will include the changes that the SAD (sleep apnea definitions) task force will be recommending. The task force also will begin to evaluate all aspects of the manual in an organized fashion and update it as necessary. The online version will also include the FAQs that were addressed after the manual was released in 2007.
We at the AASM realize that this type of project needs to be more “fluid” as new devices, sensors and research improves our diagnostic acumen. We also realize that there are downsides; one will have to document which version of the manual you are using – but we think that is a small price to pay for progress and being on the cutting edge. Please look for future HypnoGrams to update you on some of the other projects we are working on including an Outcomes Task Force, the APN/PA Task Force, Maintenance of Certification, a white paper on Academic Sleep Centers, revised accreditation standards and more. And most importantly, I wish a hearty Happy New Year to everyone and hope that it will be a healthy and successful one for all AASM members!
Nancy Collop, MD
President
