GLEN BURNIE, Md. & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NovaSom, Inc., the leader in home sleep testing for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) management, announces it has collaborated with Jefferson School of Population Health to convene the first expert advisory board exploring the impact of undiagnosed OSA on healthcare costs and productivity in the workplace. The unique event brought together top industry thought leaders to discuss new avenues for employers to administer OSA screening, diagnosis and treatment for employees in an effort to manage the growing OSA epidemic within their organization. It took place in Washington, DC on March 9, 2012.
Over 15 million Americans are living with undiagnosed moderate-to-severe OSA. Nearly half of all OSA patients also suffer from one or more serious health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or heart failure that is either aggravated or caused by OSA. Diagnosis and therapy utilization are up 1000% in the past ten years generating significant medical expense for patients and employers. Aside from dangerous health consequences, untreated OSA causes decreased productivity and attendance at work, producing a heavy economic toll for employers. A 2010 study published in the Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine reported fatigue-related productivity losses due to sleep disorders amount to nearly $2,000 per employee.1
The event convened over a dozen experts in the fields of economics, public policy, employer issues, managed care, and clinical care at organizations such as The Coca-Cola Company, GlaxoSmithKline and the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston, TX to discuss recent advancements in wireless home diagnosis and treatment technologies and business models that will allow employers to realize the benefits of proactively managing OSA.
David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean of the Jefferson School of Population Health and event chairman, said, “Sleep disorders pose major health and economic challenges, with research demonstrating a clear relationship between untreated OSA and decreased work productivity, increased absenteeism, rising benefits utilization and healthcare costs, and a dangerous increase in occupational accidents. We hope to shed light on this growing issue and explore new avenues for diagnosis in an effort to identify those with OSA faster; streamline diagnosis, address treatment and therapy compliance; and ultimately reduce costs to the system.”
Part of the discussion focused on the newest advancement in home sleep testing, NovaSom’s wireless AccuSom™ Home Sleep Test. AccuSom is the only wireless HST device approved by the FDA and leverages the company’s m-Health partnership with Verizon to allow efficient, same-day OSA diagnosis. Highly accurate, AccuSom is comfortably used at home at a fraction of the cost of in-facility polysomnography testing, and is clinically appropriate for the majority of suspected OSA sufferers. Home sleep testing increases access to diagnosis and treatment for patients who may be unable or unwilling to travel to, wait for or afford a sleep lab.
Employers can also work with their insurance plans to designate preferred therapy partners to provide employees diagnosed with OSA appropriate, cost-effective treatment. Advancements in treatment technology include Automatic Positive Airway Pressure machines (APAP) that wirelessly report patient usage to physicians to optimize treatment and essentially improve therapy outcomes.
Richard Hassett, MD, President and CEO of NovaSom and panel participant, said “Diagnosis is the first step to OSA treatment and we are pleased to be involved with such a prestigious group of thought leaders to advance the discussion surrounding the economic impact of this treatable condition. Employers are well positioned to leverage available new, innovative OSA diagnosis and treatment models on behalf of their associates and create a healthier and more productive work force. NovaSom Home Sleep Testing is overwhelmingly preferred by patients as a testing option compared to overnight, in-facility testing, and our hope is that expanded diagnosis of this epidemic will allow employers to realize the significant reduction in medical expenses and absenteeism, as well as improved quality of life for their employees.”
For more information about NovaSom’s home sleep testing model, please visit www.NovaSom.com.
About NovaSom, Inc.
NovaSom, Inc. is the market leader in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) home testing, with the first FDA-cleared system, NovaSom® Home Sleep Test, and the second generation AccuSom Home Sleep Test, the first and only FDA-cleared wireless HST. The NovaSom home sleep testing technology and MediTrack® portal have been shown to provide in-home, clinically equivalent diagnosis of OSA at a significantly reduced cost as compared to in-facility testing. Through partnerships with major health insurers, the NovaSom’s home sleep tests are currently covered for more than 165 million U.S. lives. NovaSom also offers comprehensive service programs that are utilized by payers and physicians nationwide, including its unique Payer Solutions Program that enables health insurers to realize significant cost savings by leveraging proven managed care utilization tools by redirecting OSA testing to the home. NovaSom is accredited by the Joint Commission as an Ambulatory Care Sleep Diagnostic Center and is approved by CMS as an Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility. For more information, visit www.NovaSom.com.
About The Jefferson School of Population Health
Jefferson School of Population Health (JSPH), founded in 2008, prepares leaders with global vision to develop, implement, and evaluate health policies and systems that improve the health of populations and thereby enhance the quality of life. JSPH fulfills this mission by providing exemplary graduate academic programming, continuing education courses and conferences, and sustained research and consulting in areas of health policy, population health, healthcare quality and safety, and applied health economics and outcomes research. For more information, visit www.jefferson.edu/population_health.
1 Rosekind MR, Gregory KB, Mallis MM, Brandt SL, Seal B, Lerner D. The cost of poor sleep: workplace productivity loss and associated costs. J Occup Environ Med. 2010 Jan;52(1):91-8. PubMed PMID: 20042880, via http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042880