Today the Welltrinsic Sleep Network and BeHealth Solutions announced an agreement making SHUTi the network’s exclusive platform for online cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). The partnership was announced at SLEEP 2014.
SHUTi, short for Sleep Healthy Using the Internet, is an innovative 6-week program for adults with insomnia that can be completed entirely online from the privacy and comfort of home. Users typically spend about 1 hour per week in the interactive program to complete all six modules. SHUTi combines cognitive behavioral therapy strategies with personalized sleep recommendations keyed to each user’s individual sleep patterns.
“This partnership will increase patient access to high quality, integrated sleep care for the millions of people in the US who suffer from chronic insomnia,” says Welltrinsic Sleep Network President and CEO Dr Lawrence Epstein, in a release. “CBT-I is an essential element of a comprehensive sleep medicine practice, and SHUTi eliminates potential barriers to care by enabling sleep specialists to connect patients with an effective therapy that can be completed conveniently at home.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) reports that about 10% of adults have a chronic insomnia disorder. A safe and effective treatment that produces long-term results, CBT-I is recommended by the AASM for chronic insomnia. However, patient access to CBT-I has been restricted by the limited supply of trained providers. Currently, there are about 200 behavioral sleep medicine specialists who are certified by the AASM.
“SHUTi has been scientifically validated in clinical research trials funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at the University of Virginia,” says BeHealth Solutions CEO Joe Jennings. “This research shows that SHUTi can achieve sleep improvements comparable to those seen in face-to-face CBT-I. SHUTi users get better and stay better.”
Currently, the Welltrinsic Sleep Network is offering free membership enrollment to board certified sleep medicine physicians. Network members will receive the best pricing available for SHUTi, which eventually will feature data integration with Somnoware (the exclusive data management platform for the network), according to Welltrinsic. SHUTi also features the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), giving sleep medicine physicians a streamlined method of screening patients for insomnia.
