The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has drafted a revised accreditation standards document and is encouraging sleep medicine professionals to read, review, and comment on the draft.
In January, a presidential task force was put into place to review the AASM’s accreditation policies, which resulted in the new draft of accreditation standards. The organization is stressing that this is only a first draft written to get things moving in the direction they are pursuing, and it is not yet intended to replace the standards currently in place.
“The revisions were made in order to address changes that have been made in the industry since the last update, such as CMS’s approval of home sleep testing,” says Kathleen McCann, AASM director of communications.
AASM accreditation is a voluntary process through which sleep disorders centers and sleep related breathing disorder laboratories meet certain criteria to receive the AASM stamp of approval.
“The biggest changes that were made are intended to make the accreditation process more completely objective, and extremely verifiable,” says McCann. She added that with the changes made, “the process should be more uniform for the visitors who evaluate the sleep centers.”
The AASM is welcoming feedback in regards to the new draft of standards for accreditation through June 30. AASM members can download a copy of the draft at the AASM Web site. Responses should be sent to the attention of Dr. Chediak: [email protected].
