April 20, 2007

To support sleep disorder diagnostic testing facilities that are seeking accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the academy is offering a Web-based seminar on the application process on Friday, April 20.

Sleep Center Accreditation: Applying for Accreditation, the first Webinar in the Sleep Center Accreditation Series, is scheduled from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. CDT on Friday, a posting on the AASM’s Web site said. The AASM has pushed hard for more sleep testing facilities to become accredited by them using both a carrot (offering more education and provisional accreditation) and a stick (encouraging insurers to only reimburse for sleep studies done at accredited centers) approach.

The 1-hour Webinar by Sally Neely, MD, director of policy and standards for the AASM, will give an overview of the application process, detail requirements for compliance with the AASM’s Standards for Accreditation, explain common problems encountered during the application process, and review sample applications, the AASM posting said.

A second Webinar will follow on Monday, May 7, also presented by Dr. Neely on how to prepare for an accreditation site visit by the AASM. Titled Sleep Center Accreditation: The Site Visit, it will offer an overview of what site visitors looks for during the visit, tips for compliance with the Standards for Accreditation, and a discussion of frequently-encountered problems. Times for this Webinar, however, had not yet been announced.

For more information or to register for a Webinar, log on to the AASM’s Web site at: www.aasmnet.org/SleepEdSeries.aspx.