The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Board of Directors has temporarily suspended standard B-9 within the AASM Standards for Accreditation. According to an announcement on the AASM Web site, the halt is a result of ongoing discussion with the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC).
Standard B-9 states:
“Commencing July 1, 2009, all technologists and technicians conducting sleep testing who are not certified by the BRPT [Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists] or other accepted certification body: a. must be enrolled in or have completed the A-STEP Online Self Study Modules, b. or must be enrolled or have completed the CAAHEP accredited sleep technology training program, or electroneurodiagnostic (END) program, or respiratory therapy add-on track for sleep technology.”
“As a result, the AASM Standards for Accreditation, effective immediately, will not require enrollment in or completion of A-STEP Online Self Study Modules and/or a CAAHEP-accredited sleep technology training program for respiratory therapists. This temporary policy is in place until further notice,” stated a notice on the AASM Web site.
Comment on this article at Sleep Review‘s Facebook page.
Related articles:
AARC: Respiratory Therapy Under Attack by Polysomnography Legislation
AASM/AAST to AARC: Respiratory and Sleep Professions Should Work Together
