Sleep Telemedicine Practices: Checkpoint List and Practical Considerations in the COVID-19 Era.

Athanasios Voulgaris,Luigi Ferini-Strambi,Evangelia Nena,Nicholas-Tiberio Economou,Paschalis Steiropoulos

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.664274

Athanasios Voulgaris, Luigi Ferini-Strambi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.664274

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Abstract

Sleep Telemedicine Practices: Checkpoint List and Practical Considerations in the COVID-19 Era.

Highlights

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has forced clinicians to quickly adapt to this unprecedented situation and change, in many cases, their daily clinical practice and the management of their patients [1, 2]
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recently published a position paper, in which an analysis of the terminology and the opportunities given by the sleep TM advancements are displayed [4]
Several in-person medical visits that can be avoided [e.g., screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), follow-up of already diagnosed patients, etc.] and performed remotely over sleep TM would provide a normal transition for sleep medicine practices during these stressful times [3]

Summary

BACKGROUND

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has forced clinicians to quickly adapt to this unprecedented situation and change, in many cases, their daily clinical practice and the management of their patients [1, 2]. Sleep TM provides a broad number of opportunities and can be utilized during the COVID-19 outbreak, promoting optimal health care and uninterrupted access to medical services for patients with sleep disorders [3]. Regarding the management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) during the outbreak, sleep TM can reduce long waiting lists for patients, created due to the delays attributed to the necessary infection control and prevention practices. Several in-person medical visits that can be avoided [e.g., screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), follow-up of already diagnosed patients, etc.] and performed remotely over sleep TM would provide a normal transition for sleep medicine practices during these stressful times [3]. In order to outline the necessary steps for sleep physicians regarding the practice of TM in the diagnosis and treatment of OSA patients and other sleep-related breathing disorders, we have created a simplified checkpoint list (Table 1)

DISCUSSION

Initial Evaluation