Sleep Therapy
Ron F. Richard of ResMed, Poway, Calif., gave his thoughts on the rapidly growing sleep market. The following are his thoughts, in his words.
The sleep market is going to see big changes over the next few years in terms of understanding how to best manage patients with their therapy options, with diagnosis moving more to screening type devices, and more research from the pharmaceutical side of the business looking at different means of treating sleep disorders. Sleep is still evolving and there is still so much to learn in terms of improving awareness and treatment protocols. When Dr. Bill Dement first recognized sleep disorders as a key medical problem back in the 1970s along with other pioneers such as Dr. Colin Sullivan, many people were skeptical of the research and its importance to the future role it would play in the field of medicine. And now we fast forward to 2004 where sleep research is conducted at every major medical center around the world. People are finally waking up to sleep as we say at ResMed.
Market Trends
The latest trends in the sleep market indicate that integrated humidification is becoming a standard component of the initial setup. Humidification has proven over time to consistently improve the comfort of PAP therapy. We also are seeing more sleep labs wanting to offer DME to their patients. Labs are focusing on total patient care and by offering DME they are closing the loop. Sleep labs are adding more beds to accommodate the influx of patients coming from a variety of referral sources. Increased awareness in cardiovascular and primary care areas has driven more patients into the sleep labs for diagnosis and subsequent therapy. The trend line for sleep looks very strong for the next three to five years and should prove to be a good market opportunity for HME dealers who want to focus their resources in this area.
Reimbursement
Medicare changes will have some impact on the sleep market, but the majority of patients being treated for sleep disorders are under the age of 65 and not involved with Medicare programs. That being said, there is a trend of increasing the number of patients being treated with PAP therapy that are Medicare beneficiaries who suffer from OSA as well as other co morbidities such as CHF, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic respiratory issues. Poor sleep hygiene can manifest itself in a number of ways and the links between sleep apnea and other diseases has been documented in a number of peer reviewed articles over the past three to four years. The evidence is mounting that sleep may be one of the most critical aspects to improving health and reducing costs in our system. Untreated sleep disorders cost the health care industry billions of dollars each year and proper diagnosis and treatment will improve this situation over time.
@Text:Thus far the coverage from CMS related to sleep disorders has been fairly well received by HMEs and patients. The frequency of replacements is reasonable and maintains the hygiene and functionality of the devices in a timely and efficient manner.
Awareness
It appears that awareness has increased dramatically over the last five years based on the trends of more sleep lab beds being created as well as more CPAP devices being sold. The articles related to sleep apnea are everywhere. You can find discussions on the topic in Woman Day magazine and within the pages of the Wall Street Journal. More work has to be done by industry to improve the educational message being sent to the public and the physician community regarding this silent epidemic. Snoring is more than just a bothersome problem that can be masked with nasal sprays or nasal strips. Stopping breathing 100's of times per night over a period of several years has a cumulative effect on the major organs in the body leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and serious health care consequences. Snoring is the first signs that a person needs to have a checkup with a specialist that can determine the best possible course of action to treat sleep disorder breathing and normalize the patients breathing during the night.
Education
Dealers who are offering sleep services to their referral sources should market the importance of the therapy and their follow-up programs. Compliance is a key issue for patients being treated for sleep disorders and if done properly, the programs can be very effective in generating positive cash flow and increasing their presence in the markets they serve. HMEs need to work with their payers and educate them on the relevance of treating patients for sleep disorders as well. Many payers are eager to learn more about sleep as this is a growing sector of the market and they are seeing more claims for products coming across their desks. The key to future survival in the sleep market is to thrive and not just survive. Providers need to understand the economics of doing sleep in the most efficient means possible based on the needs of the patient payers and physicians. Technology will play an ever increasing role in determining the solutions best suited for the business model of the HME.
The Future
In the future more people will sleep better due to the following factors: Technology has improved greatly in terms of nasal masks. Masks have evolved and become adaptive to active sleepers and seal better at lower headgear tensions. CPAP machines are much quieter, easier to operate and they are getting smaller while still offering integrated humidification. The new software programs help HMEs and physicians analyze patient data more efficiently and troubleshoot issues thus correcting problems with their therapy more quickly.
The sleep market is going to see big changes over the next few years through understanding how to best manage patients with their therapy options, diagnosis moving more to screening type devices and more research from the pharma side of the business looking at different means of treating sleep disorders. Sleep is still evolving and there is still so much to learn in terms of improving awareness and treatment protocols. When Dr. Bill Dement first recognized sleep disorders as a key medical problem back in the 1970s along with other pioneers such as Dr. Colin Sullivan, many people were skeptical of the research and its importance to the future role it would play in the field of medicine. And here we are fast forward to 2004 where sleep research is being done at every major medical center around the world. People are finally waking up to sleep.
This article originally appeared in the June 2004 issue of HME Business.