The ASAA educational video - on Youtube

Visit the ASAA web site for information on how to obtain a DVD copy for yourself.


The video is also available in Spanish.

Sleep Apnea Video premiere

As a part of National Sleep Awareness Week and in advance of Thursday - March 6 - Sleep Apnea Awareness Day, the American Sleep Apnea Association will have a premiere of it educational video - What Is Sleep Apnea? This video, available on DVD, is the remake of our first educational video of the same title, produced in 1994.

Of the many things I have wanted to accomplish in my capacity as executive director of the association, recreating this video was high on the list.

We were fortunate to find unrestricted educational funding from Cephalon to make this a reality. I personally was fortunate to have a collaborator who was extremely interested in the project, so I did not have to give up running the ASAA during the four months it took to produce the finally product.

Tonight is a celebration of that effort and a chance to say thank you to the many people who were involved in making the film possible.

Two segments from the video are on Youtube as PSA - just search sleep apnea psa.

You can order the DVD from our web site and later this month a Spanish language verison will be available as well.

All the best and sleep well.
ED

A new metaphor for untreated sleep apnea

Imagine a pebble dropped into a pond...what happens is an expanding concentric circle from where the pebble touched the water.

I am beginning to understand untreated sleep apnea in this way: an expanding circle of misery.

It begins with the individual, the lack of restorative sleep from the frequent arousals caused by the apneic events results in excessive daytime sleepiness. The frequent arousals can result in a spikes in blood pressure resulting in hypertension. The apneic events can cause oxygen destaturation which can result in cognitive deficits.

The circle expands to affecting the bedpartner and the family. The bedpartner experiences lack of restorative sleep due to concern over the pauses in breathing or the sound of loud snoring. Increased irritability from lack of sleep can result in conflict in the family. In extreme cases, this can tear the family apart.

The circle expands further affecting the workplace. A sleep deprived employee is less productive due to lack of focus, more prone to accidents and injuries. People with untreated sleep apnea have higher utilization of the healthcare system and increase healthcare.

The circle of misery at its largest point affects the larger community and society as a whole. Sleepy drivers are more likely to have automobile accidents. A number of major industrial accidents, whose impact extended far beyond the confines of the plant were attributed to excessive daytime sleepiness.

March 6th is Sleep Apnea Awareness Day... check your snore score and if necessary talk to your doctor.

Preparing for Sleep Apnea Awareness Day 2008

I started working for the ASAA in May of 2004. I realized soon after I got there that what needed to addressed sooner than later was updating the educational video the association had released in 1994!

It took some time and some doing, but it is almost finished. The completed video, which will be available on DVD will run 10 minutes and is shot in high definition. The video will have a prologue and an epilogue that can be used as PSA for television.

Currently the prologue is available on Youtube.

Our plan is to hold an event in Washington, DC during National Sleep Awareness Week, to premiere the video and then to take it to Minneapolis to where the largest A.W.A.K.E. group will be holding an all day event on March 6 - Sleep Apnea Awareness Day.

The video will feature prominently in the RSVP campaign which will be unveiled in the spring.

2008 is already shaping up to be a big year for the ASAA. Check back for more news on SAAD 2008!

ED

A new year and new challenges - testing for sleep apnea

Be careful what you wish for... that was a comment I heard while attending the hearing on using Home Sleep Testing (HST) for the diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Be careful indeed.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed a revision to their National Coverage Determination concerning the prescription of CPAP for the treatment of OSA.

Currently, the prescription for CPAP would only be reimbursed if the diagnosis was made on the basis of a sleep study done in a sleep lab or sleep center.

The proposed decision could significantly change the landscape for the diagnosis and treatment of OSA. It would allow for the prescription to be reimbursed on the basis of an HST.

HST will be a good thing for the thousands/millions of people who have sleep apnea and are prevented getting treatment due to cost of testing or ability to access an existing sleep testing facility. But, the decision removes necessary participation of the sleep specialist from the treatment pathway and places great reliance on the primary care physician, who may or may not be able properly care the patient with a sleep disorder.

A dear colleague and friend says that the custodian in the office of her sleep lab is capable of diagnosing cases of sleep apnea. But what about the cases that generate a false positive or worse a false negative. What happens with those cases?

CMS will need the wisdom of Solomon to work this out. Whatever their decision, the ASAA will continue to be the comprehensive resource for those seek information about diagnosis and treatment and the home of A.W.A.K.E. and the Apnea Support Forum

2008 promises to be an interesting year... check back often for new entries.

Help the American Sleep Apnea Association

The ASAA is participating in America's Giving Challenge sponsored by Parade and the Case Foundation. Please help us meet the challenge!

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=109008

Back in a few days with exciting news and updates.

ED

Thanksgiving 2007

The office is closed today and tomorrow. This gives me a couple of moments to reflect on my activities since the last post....

The American Public Health Association meeting was incredible. I believe this was the first time the association had exhibited or at least since I came on-board with the ASAA. We came prepared for the show. Annelise Thornton, MHS of Sleepwell Solutions, prepared an excellent document outlining the need for the public health community to focus its attention on sleep apnea as a public health crisis. Attending the meeting provided a number of excellent networking opportunities, particularly with people who help connect with minority communities. Work is underway to do more with the APHA.

The ASAA held its annual Board meeting in early November . While the formalities of elections is not quite completed we are welcoming three new Board members... M. Elizabeth Johns, Burton Abrams and Eric Rude. Each one of these new Board members brings a special set of talents to the association and I am pleased to have them working with us.

The meeting itself was giving over to discussing some of the ideas put forward in Jim Collin's monograph Good to Great and the Social Sectors. It was a lively discussion and from that several working groups were created to develop sets of objectives and actions items. I am thankful for the work of the Board and look forward to the results of the group's efforts.

On top of all this activity, work on the remake of our 1994 educational video - What is Sleep Apnea? began in earnest. This is a project I have wanted to undertake since I started at the association. I am pleased to be working Henninger Productions. We have completed two days of filming... including one at the Sleep Lab at Georgetown University Hospital. The video should be available near the end of the year. Plans are to have video available in Spanish.

It is a busy time at the ASAA. I glad to have a moment to catch my breath and to give thanks to all the generous people who have helped to advance the cause of the association. Thereby making it the leading organization that it is today.

Happy Thanksgiving (and remember to PAP while you NAP ;) )