STUDY OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine is a novel modality of health care delivery that can improve patients' access to sleep medicine services, but little is known about telemedicine training during sleep medicine fellowship. We studied telemedicine training prevalence, use, and attitudes of program directors (PDs) and other faculty members, PDs' receptiveness to a standardized telemedicine curriculum, and whether PDs have reviewed existing American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) sleep telemedicine reference materials. METHODS: This was an anonymous online survey of all 86 PDs of accredited sleep medicine fellowships in the United States. RESULTS: Response rate was 45%. Thirteen (33.3%) of the PDs already offer telemedicine experience to their trainees, although none use a standard telemedicine curriculum. Among the 26 (66.7%) PDs not offering telemedicine experience, 38.5% plan to do so and 53.9% agree that it would benefit fellows. Most PDs (57.9%) report faculty using telemedicine now or within the next 3 years. Many PDs agree that telemedicine is technically feasible, but relatively few agree it is financially feasible (82.1% and 38%, respectively). Few PDs have reviewed both primary AASM telemedicine reference materials. Overall, 64.1% of PDs agree that a national sleep telemedicine curriculum could be useful. CONCLUSIONS: Although only a minority of current sleep medicine fellows are exposed to telemedicine, it is likely that most will get some exposure in the next 3 years. PDs' attitudes toward telemedicine vary significantly with respect to feasibility and importance to their programs. Nevertheless, most PDs believe a standardized sleep telemedicine training curriculum could be useful.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine is a novel modality of health care delivery that can improve patients' access to sleep medicine services, but little is known about telemedicine training during sleep medicine fellowship. We studied telemedicine training prevalence, use, and attitudes of program directors (PDs) and other faculty members, PDs' receptiveness to a standardized telemedicine curriculum, and whether PDs have reviewed existing American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) sleep telemedicine reference materials. METHODS: This was an anonymous online survey of all 86 PDs of accredited sleep medicine fellowships in the United States. RESULTS: Response rate was 45%. Thirteen (33.3%) of the PDs already offer telemedicine experience to their trainees, although none use a standard telemedicine curriculum. Among the 26 (66.7%) PDs not offering telemedicine experience, 38.5% plan to do so and 53.9% agree that it would benefit fellows. Most PDs (57.9%) report faculty using telemedicine now or within the next 3 years. Many PDs agree that telemedicine is technically feasible, but relatively few agree it is financially feasible (82.1% and 38%, respectively). Few PDs have reviewed both primary AASM telemedicine reference materials. Overall, 64.1% of PDs agree that a national sleep telemedicine curriculum could be useful. CONCLUSIONS: Although only a minority of current sleep medicine fellows are exposed to telemedicine, it is likely that most will get some exposure in the next 3 years. PDs' attitudes toward telemedicine vary significantly with respect to feasibility and importance to their programs. Nevertheless, most PDs believe a standardized sleep telemedicine training curriculum could be useful.
Authors: Kathleen F Sarmiento; Robert L Folmer; Carl J Stepnowsky; Mary A Whooley; Eilis A Boudreau; Samuel T Kuna; Charles W Atwood; Connor J Smith; W Claibe Yarbrough Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2019-09-15 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Raghav Govindarajan; Eric R Anderson; Roger R Hesselbrock; Ramesh Madhavan; Lauren R Moo; Nima Mowzoon; James Otis; Mark N Rubin; Madhu Soni; Jack W Tsao; Scott Vota; Hannah Planalp Journal: Neurology Date: 2017-08-02 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: Paul E Peppard; Terry Young; Jodi H Barnet; Mari Palta; Erika W Hagen; Khin Mae Hla Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2013-04-14 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: Jaspal Singh; M Safwan Badr; Wendy Diebert; Lawrence Epstein; Dennis Hwang; Valerie Karres; Seema Khosla; K Nicole Mims; Affifa Shamim-Uzzaman; Douglas Kirsch; Jonathan L Heald; Kathleen McCann Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2015-10-15 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Karin G Johnson; Shannon S Sullivan; Afua Nti; Vida Rastegar; Indira Gurubhagavatula Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2021-01-01 Impact factor: 4.062