In the News…

HMW NEWS ‚JUNE 2004

Davey & Goliath: Doc slings doubt
at sleep academy
By Jin Sullivan, Editor

BALTIMORE - A sleep physician who claims that 95-99% of people with obstructive sleep apnea can be diagnosed in the home has prompted CMS to reassess its decision to require beneficiaries receiving CPAP to be diagnosed in a lab using polysomnography (PSG).

In his Jan. 29 letter to CMS, Dr. Terence Davidson, who runs the sleep lab at the University of San Diego’s School of Medicine, argues that the current policy is inhibiting the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea because the nation’s 692 sleep labs are simply too full.

To support his request, Davidson cited 14 studies involving 747 patients using eight different, multi-channel home sleep tests that demonstrate correlation between tests conducted in the lab and tests conducted in the home. The articles were published in such peer review journals as Chest and Sleep.

“It’s not hard to diagnose sleep apnea,” said Davidson. “We now have the ability to do CPAP titrations in the home. The fact of the matter is that this disease is so prevalent we need to start diagnosing it.”

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Treating Sleep Apnea Could Save Lives, Money

Auto accidents involving people with untreated obstructive sleep apnea cause 1,400 deaths in the year 2000 and nearly $16 billion in accident-related costs, report researchers from the University of California, San Diego.