Sleep Technology

Kristina Weaver, RPSGT, is the neurodiagnostic manager for Parrish Healthcare’s Sleep Disorders Center. She has been involved in sleep medicine for 13 years. Prior to that, she was a paramedic. Weaver is the coordinator of Brevard AWAKE. She also serves as the past president of the Florida Association of Sleep Technologists and is on the AAST Board of Directors.

Have you ever heard anyone say management is easy? I have been a manager for 10 years now, and I can attest to the immense challenges that come with the job. Most managers do not have any real management training and are frequently asked to lead a team because of their display of confidence in knowledge, ability to delegate and their interactive communication skills. But sometimes using those skills as an individual employee don’t translate to using them as a manager.

Authors: BRPT President Jessica Schmidt, MA, FACHE, RPSGT, CCSH, and AAST President Rita Brooks, MEd, RPSGT, REEG/EPT, FAAST Editor’s Note: An article entitled "How to Survive a BRPT Audit" ran in the Quarter One 2019/Volume 28/Number 01 edition of A2Zzz magazine. The intent of the article was to remind sleep technologists that they are responsible for assuring they have the appropriate continuing education credits to maintain their credentials and to explain the audit process.  Unfortunately, the article unintentionally contained misleading and, in a number of cases, incorrect information, which was confirmed by reviewing message history, document uploads and login records that are tracked and time-stamped in BRPT’s certification database.  That article was retracted, has been edited, and will be re-published in the Quarter Two 2019 edition of A2Zzz, conveying the important message that the AAST and BRPT continue to work together to assure that correct information is consistently provided for our members and credential holders. The revised article and the information that follows below provide an accurate description of recertification responsibilities and the recertification audit as well as tips for facilitating a smooth and efficient audit process.

On Aug. 8, 2018, Carecentrix released its criteria for determining the medical necessity for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing in adults and children. I wanted to take this opportunity to review their guideline for home sleep apnea testing (HSAT).

I was one of the lucky “birthday” winners to receive a free copy of Meir Kryger’s latest book, “The Mystery of Sleep,” at the AAST meeting in Indianapolis last fall. TMoS is touted as “an authoritative and accessible guide to what happens when we shut our eyes at night.” Indeed, I found the format, tone and relevance of Kryger’s book to live up to the hype.

Michael G. Eden, RPSGT, RST, has been working in sleep medicine for 23 years and became an RPSGT in 1998. Eden has worked for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario as a task force member, creating legislation for all sleep clinics in Ontario. He has been on the executive board of the Canadian Sleep Society and chairs the Education Committee. Eden has been on the Scientific and Technologist Planning Committee for both the Canadian Sleep Society and the World Sleep Society, planning international meetings. He has been on the CEC Committee for AAST for the past two years. Recently, he was elected to the AAST Board of Directors. It is his pleasure to serve the sleep community in any capacity, but education and patient advocacy are key elements to his work.

On a snowy day in 1975, Allan Rechtschaffen came into the conference room at the University of Chicago Sleep Research Laboratory and told me I should join a group called the Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep. He said there was an annual meeting and some other stuff that would make it worth my while. The other graduate students started to chant, “Do it! Do it!” and so, succumbing to peer pressure, I joined my first professional society. (Author’s note: I’m not sure it really happened that way. It was a long time ago. My memory for what I just had for breakfast is hazy, so you can imagine what is left of my 1975 memories. But something like that did happen. I think.) I’ve been a member ever since.

Sleep spindles are an information processing and transferring feature of the sleeping brain. With that in mind, AAST gathered together leading sleep-care professionals to discuss hot topics in the field — transferring information from them to you. AAST board member Allen Boone, RPSGT, RST, CCRA, CCRC, hosts this four-part video series. In our fourth and final installment, we have an interview with fellow board member Brendan Duffy, RPSGT, RST, CCSH, and Past President Laura A. Linley, RST, RPSGT, CRTT, on the topic of the need for ongoing education.  

This article is part three in a four-part series on the ever-changing face of sleep technology. In this article, we’ll address the following questions: What does the future of sleep medicine look like? How will evolving technology change the way sleep studies are done? And, just as importantly, how will economic pressures affect sleep medicine?

Sleep technologists have an important and wide-ranging job. They care for patients with sleep disorders, which can encompass comprehensive evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders, including in-center polysomnographic testing and out-of-center sleep testing; diagnostic and therapeutic interventions; comprehensive patient care; and direct patient education.