Talking Sleep | Reimbursement and clinical use of actigraphy

Season 6 | Episode 12

DR. PAUL RAYMOND, GUEST

The Actiwatch is a popular actigraphy device that is no longer sold or supported by Philips. Its discontinuation coincided with the launch of the AASM’s “Act on Actigraphy” campaign, which highlights the importance of actigraphy testing for sleep disorders and urges payers to reimburse health care professionals for this medical service. Dr. Paul Raymond, vice chair of the AASM Coding and Reimbursement Advisory Committee, discusses reimbursement for actigraphy, its clinical use, and current and future options for device selection.

Paul Raymond, MD, graduated from the University of Washington Medical School in 1984 and is board certified in family medicine and sleep medicine. He is a lifelong Alaskan and has been providing medical care within the state since 1987. He currently provides sleep medicine services throughout the state with offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Soldotna, and Wasilla. He serves as medical director for the AASM-accredited facilities of Anchorage Sleep Center, Fairbanks Sleep Center, Wasilla Sleep Center, as well as the Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital Sleep Lab in Utqiagvik (the northernmost sleep lab in the world). He has been instrumental in providing educational resources concerning sleep medicine to medical professionals in Alaska by initiating and serving as medical director for the Alaska Sleep Medicine Conference from 2014 – 2019.

Resources

1. Smith MT, McCrae CS, Cheung J, et al. Use of actigraphy for the evaluation of sleep disorders and circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018;14(7):1231–1237. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7230
2. Philips. Product discontinuation notice for Actiware, Actiwatch 2, Actiwatch PRO, and Actiwatch Plus. Oct. 31, 2023.
3. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Take action: Join the ‘Act on Actigraphy’ payer reimbursement campaign. Oct. 27, 2023.
4. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. American Academy of Sleep Medicine launches ‘Act on Actigraphy’ campaign to support patient access to care. Oct. 2, 2023.