Procurement Trends: Home Sleep - November 2013

Until recently, diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) always required an overnight stay in a specialized sleep laboratory or clinic. Testing typically ncluded standard laboratory polysomnography (PSG), considered the gold-standard test for OSA diagnosis. In many facilities, demand for testing in the sleep lab has exceeded the capacity of these clinics. Because of this increased demand, a number of smaller, portable systems that can be used at home have been developed to make testing more convenient and cost-effective. Home sleep testing systems are not a replacement for standard polysomnography in the sleep lab because they can’t diagnose all types of sleep problems. However, they may be appropriate for screening patients when moderate to severe OSA is suspected.

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