A substantial percentage of Medicare beneficiaries with sleep disorders undergo evaluations by board-certified sleep medicine providers, with the majority of clinicians treating patients with insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, according to study results published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Previous research has demonstrated that consultation with a board-certified sleep medicine provider may be associated with positive patient outcomes, including improved adherence to recommended treatment regimens. However, there has been conflicting data, and therefore the investigators conducted the study to assess the national patterns of sleep medicine care delivery by board-certified sleep medicine providers.­

In this study, US-based sleep medicine researchers assessed a random 5% sample of Medicare administrative claims data from 2007 to 2011 to identify board-certified sleep medicine providers who evaluated Medicare beneficiaries with sleep disorders.

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