An mHealth Intelligence report examines the trend of telehealth in sleep medicine, including established guidelines for its use and new telehealth technology.
The advent of remote monitoring platforms has pushed sleep therapy out of the lab and into the bedroom, where specialists or even primary care providers can keep tabs on a patient’s sleep patterns and physiological signs through a typical night.
Roughly 70 million Americans have problems sleeping, with about 60 percent suffering from a chronic issue like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea. That’s given rise to a global sleep-aid market – which now includes wearable and sensor technology – that’s expected to top $76 billion in less than five years.
It has also prompted the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a 40-year-old network of some 11,000 specialists, to launch a telemedicine platform this month. Several startups are also in the space or soon will be, and sleep technology has made its way onto the agendas of at least two major conferences.
