The project from the American Thoracic Society aims to reduce the high rate of undiagnosed sleep disorders by partnering with primary care providers.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Diagnostic Gap: Approximately 80 to 90% of the 83 million Americans with obstructive sleep apnea are currently undiagnosed, according to the National Institutes of Health.
- Primary Care Integration: The American Thoracic Society is collaborating with four healthcare systems to help primary care providers better identify and test for sleep disorders.
- Clinical Interventions: The project has entered a phase of testing and evaluating interventions to streamline sleep testing and improve access to specialists.
The American Thoracic Society (ATS) has launched a quality improvement project to address the gap in screening and diagnosis for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The initiative, titled “ATS Quality Improvement Project: Optimizing Sleep Apnea Diagnosis in Primary Care,” is funded by Eli Lilly.
Four healthcare systems are participating in the project: West Virginia University, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, the San Francisco Health Network/University of California San Francisco, and the Mount Sinai Health System. These organizations will collaborate with primary care providers to increase the identification and testing of OSA.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an estimated 83 million Americans live with OSA, but approximately 80 to 90 percent of these individuals remain undiagnosed.
“The staggering number of patients who remain undiagnosed suggests that there are systemic barriers to engaging patients,” said Michelle Ng Gong, MD, ATSF, ats president. “As an organization committed to equity in healthcare, the ATS is proud be spearheading this quality improvement initiative focused on addressing both common and system-specific barriers to OSA diagnosis. Ultimately, we aim to increase primary care engagement with OSA screening and diagnosis, streamline sleep testing processes, and improve access to sleep medicine specialists.”
The project is now moving into the phase of testing, refining, and evaluating interventions with the confirmed healthcare system partners.
