AASM President Dr. Kannan Ramar hosted the presidential town hall forum, “COVID-19 and Sleep Medicine Update,” on Tuesday, Jan. 19. During this live webinar, Dr. Ramar presented the results of the  COVID-19 pulse survey, which the AASM distributed to members in late November and early December 2020 as a follow-up to the initial survey, which was distributed in late July and early August.

Dr. Ramar discussed the survey results with two panelists:  AASM Past President Dr. Douglas Kirsch, chair of the AASM Telemedicine Presidential Committee, and Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula, chair of the AASM COVID-19 Task Force. Topics of discussion included the ongoing impact of the pandemic on sleep medicine professionals and sleep disorders centers, current considerations for the practice of sleep medicine, AASM initiatives to support the sleep field, and the impact of the pandemic on telemedicine implementation. The webinar concluded with a moderated Q&A session to respond to questions submitted by attendees.