• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Subscribe to the Journal
  • Contact Us
Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy

Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy

Official Publication of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy

If We Focus on Patient Outcomes, there are No Bad Ideas…

October 6, 2013 by admin

 
     The Fall has historically held a sense of “New Beginnings”; a sentiment that lingers from the recurring   academic   year.   Many  of  us  tend   to  look   at   our   professional   office   with   fresh  eyes, looking for ways to improve our craft and the manner in which we provide care for our patients.I just   read   an   excellent   article (Sleep   Medicine   Care   Under   One   Roof:  A  Proposed   Model   for   Integrating Dentistry and Medicine: J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(8):827-833)  that discusses the care and management of Sleep patients. It documents the many difficulties that have stood in the way of providing the best care possible for these patients; some quotes…
 
“Dentists who provide appliance therapy…are seemingly few in number.”
 
“…only about 200 dentists (7 in Ontario) have obtained Diplomate Status with the ABDSM.”
 
“Dental schools recently surveyed reported only 3 hours of curriculum time devoted to sleep.”
 
“Education to sleep physicians… technologists about oral appliances… virtually nonexistent.”
 
“Communication between sleep physicians and dentists…suboptimal in most…settings.”
 
“Co-treatment…with dental clinicians…viewed as vaguely competitive to some physicians”
 
“Referrals… discouraged by the lack of, or limited re-imbursement for, oral appliances”
 
“Many patients are reluctant to return to the referring physician for follow-up evaluation”
 
     Notwithstanding this being an American article, the issues quoted above have been, and continue to be obstacles to optimum patient care in Canada. The article goes on to state…
 
“It is, therefore, in the best interest of sleep medicine that a dialogue on innovative improved models of care be reviewed, discussed, and implemented to address the above-mentioned barriers to achieve comprehensive care”.
        
 As a possible solution to “fragmentation of care and limited communication”, the authors propose   a  “care-under-one-roof”  concept.   Of  course,   their   model   adheres  to   both  AASM   and AADSM protocols, and involves a dentist that has obtained Diplomate status with the ABDSM. The benefits associated with all professionals being located under one roof are obvious. However, most of us do not work in this setting. Nevertheless, as professionals we can work together on these issues and through collaborative effort remedy them in our own environment. I believe that this   article   provides   much   insight   into   areas   demanding   our   attention.   Our   office   constantly reviews and revises protocols in an effort to facilitate the communication required to best manage our Sleep patients. We not only welcome, but very much appreciate suggestions or feedback from our Medical colleagues. Common issues we deal with are patients not returning for follow-up
appointments or going for efficacy sleep studies once they feel their Orthotic is working for them. We make every effort to reinforce the importance of these events and welcome any collaborative effort from our Medical colleagues to facilitate their occurrence. A mentor of mine once told me, “If we focus on Patient Outcomes, there are no Bad Ideas”.
 
John Viviano B.Sc. DDS Diplomate ABDSM; obtained his credentials from U of T in 1983, he provides conservative therapy for snoring and sleep apnea in his Clinic Limited to the Management of Breathing Related Sleep Disorders. A member of various sleep organizations, he is a Credentialed Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, and has lectured internationally regarding management of Sleep-Disordered Breathing and the use of Acoustic Reflection. Dr Viviano has also conducted original research, authored articles and established   protocols on the use of Acoustic Reflection for assessing the Upper Airway and its Normalization.

Related posts:

  1. The Dentist’s Role in Optimizing Airway Orthotic Patient Care
  2. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act upheld by US Supreme Court
  3. SomnoMed to Pass 100,000 Sleep Apnea Patient Milestone

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Articles, Home Sleep Testing, insomnia, sleep apnea, sleep disorders, sleep labs

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Snoring, American Sleep and Breathing Academy and the NY Times

August 23, 2022 By admin

Jazz Pharma Presents 17 New Posters for SLEEP 2022

June 6, 2022 By admin

Tags

apnea CPAP Health Home Sleep Home Sleep Testing insomnia narcolepsy obstructive sleep apnea Sleep sleep apnea sleep apnea symptoms sleep apnea syndrome sleep apnea treatment sleep appliances sleep buisness Sleep Business sleep center Sleep Centers sleep community sleep diagnosis sleep diagnostic sleep diagnostics sleep disease sleep disorder sleep disorder center sleep disordered breathing sleep disorders sleep heart health sleep industry sleeping Sleep Lab sleep labs sleep management sleep medicine sleep monitor sleep physicians sleep problems sleep studies sleep study sleep technologist sleep test sleep testing Technology therapy Treatment

Footer

About SleepDT

SleepDT Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy is a clinical Journal for allied Sleep Professionals, Neurologists, Psychiatrists, Pulmonologists, Primary Care Physicians, and other medical specialists. We also advocate on behalf of patient care in the field of Sleep Medicine

Recent

  • SUPPORT AND PROMOTE DENTAL SLEEP MEDICINE IN 2023!
  • Snoring, American Sleep and Breathing Academy and the NY Times
  • Jazz Pharma Presents 17 New Posters for SLEEP 2022
  • AJMC Hypes SLEEP 2022
  • Avadel Pharmaceuticals’ Stock Falls

NAVIGATION

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Subscribe to the Journal
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2023 · Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy