Although telemedicine is a promising tool for the delivery of sleep care, its accuracy compared to in-person evaluation has been uncertain. This present study is the first to evaluate the accuracy of telemedicine in determining pretest probability for obstructive sleep apnea in a community population.
Our results show moderate agreement between an in-person and a telemedicine evaluator in determining pretest probability for obstructive sleep apnea. A much higher level of agreement was noted for our secondary endpoint of witnessed apneas but was low for all of the elements of physical examination. The agreement between raters in ultimately determining the degree of sleep apnea when looking at HSAT results was almost perfect, according to published criteria.
Tele-sleep medicine is becoming increasingly visible, and adoption is happening quickly in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic. In a mid-decade review of patient attitudes toward sleep telemedicine, 63% of respondents surveyed stated they would be comfortable or willing to try telemedicine visits for their sleep appointments. When considering the shortage of sleep medicine providers, and the time, expense, and safety of traveling to and conducting in-person appointments, telemedicine evaluation is helping to improve access. It is important that the sleep field continue to optimize both the technology and the clinical standards for this tool.
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