Direct Referral for Apnea Monitoring

The primary objective of this project is to compare a health care delivery model, Direct Referral for Apnea Monitoring (DREAM), with initial in-person (Traditional) clinic appointments for Veterans at risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A secondary objective is to determine the negative predictive value (NPV) of home sleep apnea testing (HSAT).

Patients referred to one of 3 participating VA sleep medicine clinics (San Francisco VA, VA Portland or VA Pittsburgh) for OSA will be assigned either to the Traditional clinical pathway (which might include an initial encounter with a sleep care provider through in-person visits, telephone clinics, or video conferencing) or the DREAM pathway which will omit the initial encounter with a care provider. After a clinician conducts a chart review of medical records, patients in the DREAM pathway will be referred for sleep testing. All patients will be tracked from the time of referral until 90-days past the initiation of treatment. To determine the NPV of HSAT, results of sleep tests will be compared for patients who undergo both HSAT and polysomnographic (PSG) procedures. Concurrent PSG and HSAT studies will be done at Portland, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco.