excerpting from a private conversation i had with a friend (on a no-names basis to protect the identity of the innocent ;-)
"I support the HST as an additional tool. I also see it as an easier way to get more people diagnosed. If the insurance companies use it as a replacement to the PSG instead of an additional tool I see more problems on the horizon for sleep. You have to see that this system is about what is best for the insurance companies, and has very little to do with pt care. I support the HST, but I am not so sure about the Watermark program. If this program were to catch on I believe it would be a step backwards in pt care as far as sleep is concerned. Everything would be done remotely via the primary care physician and Watermark. Under their system not once in the process would the pt talk to an educated sleep anything. I believe that this system would give the DMEs more power while crushing all sleep labs other than hospital based. I understand that the HST may enable more people to get diagnosed. That is huge, but what will be the sacrifice? I wish I knew. What I do know is that it will not fall on Watermark, the physician, or the insurance company. That only leaves one player in this game to take the hit. The patient.
The key to getting more people diagnosed and treated is lowering the price of the REQUIRED test. Not coming up with cheaper versions that only encompass one sleep disorder. I know that 85% of all sleep patients are inflcted with simple apnea. 40% of those have other underlying sleep problems. If the HST and auto titration become gold standard a huge number of people may never get the treatment they need.
It is all about the pts. If you take care of them emotionally, mentally, and physically then they will take care of you financially. There are no shortcuts when we are gambling with lives. "
Tags:
-
▶ Reply to This